


Mechanical Palace

by hjp3697



Category: Iron Man (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies), X-Men - All Media Types, X-Men: First Class (Comics)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Androids, Artificial Intelligence, Bad Cooking, Captivity, Carrying, Character Development, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Developing Relationship, Epic Friendship, Erik Has Feelings, Erik Lehnsherr is David 8, Erik Logic Is The Best Logic, Existentialism, Feels, Gen, Healing, Humor, Hurt Charles, Hurt/Comfort, Internet, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Minor Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Mystery, Non-Human Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Poor Charles, Post-Apocalypse, Protective Erik, Psychology, Rescue, Robots, Science Fiction, Sick Charles, Sickfic, Slow Build, Technology, Trust, Virtual Reality, X-Men: First Class (2011), Young Charles Xavier
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-13
Updated: 2019-12-09
Packaged: 2020-03-02 17:28:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 33,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18815617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hjp3697/pseuds/hjp3697
Summary: The story of a boy (Charles) raised to live in a mechanical palace in relative isolation until he one day decides to build a companion. He would name it David (David 8).





	1. Building

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to my story everyone! <3 I hope you find as much joy in reading as I did in dreaming and writing it.
> 
> I've been reading fanfiction for most of my life and, after studying literature in college, I began writing professionally for several years. Despite that, I've been daunted by the prospect of sharing my stories here for many years. I worried that my ideas and writing might not be interesting or strong enough for everyone's tastes. But I'm more than ready now, and am delighted to share my story with you all in this space that I've loved for years!
> 
> I'll post new chapters as often as possible. I'm aiming to have at least one posted each week by Sunday. All that aside, please comment and tell me if you'd like to see anything special in future chapters. It's inspiring to read what others think. ~ Love Always <3 hjp

**1\. Building**

 

Once upon a time there was a boy named Charles who lived in a large mechanical palace all alone. His mother and father had long since passed and the boy was left to tend to his needs independently. So at the tender age of 18, after years spent in relative isolation, he decided to build a companion. He would name it David, he decided, a simple name for a simply, ordinary companion.

 

Charles spent many years scouring every inch of the mechanical palace trying to find pieces of machinery he could use to build his companion and slowly, bit by bit, knitting him together, until he had a framework that looked remarkably like a man.

The final components he needed included a special artificially intelligent material to act as the surface, or skin-like, layer called Sylke and a “brain” to give the mechanical companion the ability to think and develop consciousness. However, Sylke was rare and expensive, and the boy was reluctant to leave his project untended while he lost hours working to acquire the funds necessary to pay for the material. So he determined that he would have to sell something equally precious that was already at hand in order to acquire it.

One evening, after working through the day, fine tuning his project, he ventured into a part of his palace that he’d purposefully avoided for most of his life. The wing that had once been his parents domain and included their bedroom.

 

Charles, walked slowly down the artificially lit hallways, until he reached a pair of large white doors with two golden knobs. He stood there for a moment with his eyes closed, thinking of his parents and what they meant to him. Of what it would mean to pass through the doors before him. They’d died when Charles was very young and he’d spent much of his life in the palace they’d built for him. He’d been raised by the house itself in large part. It was powered by an impressive AI (e.g. artificial intelligence), that was connected to nearly every facet of the structure from the front doors and ceiling lights to the many rooms its sole inhabitant worked through and wandered day in and day out. This AI was more of a caregiver to Charles than his own family had ever had the opportunity to be while alive. And now, Charles called upon it to unlock the daunting doors that he stood before. In a quiet but confident voice Charles spoke at last, “Please, open the doors, Jarvis”. The AI immediately complied, and there was a slight clicking sound before the large white doors slowly swung inwards and Charles stepped into the space to collect what he would need to begin the final phase, to complete the work on his mechanical companion.

 

A few hours later Charles sat before a large computer screen, and completed a transaction necessary to sell a diamond and pearl necklace. He’d collected the jewelry from his mother’s closet, knowing it was not only a priceless bauble but a piece of his past, a connection to the woman, the mother, who had brought him into the world and left him before he’d had the chance to truly know her. He cherished everything his parents had left him with, as he was unable to cherish them any longer in-person. But he also knew that he needed to make the sacrifice in order to complete his project. He’d posted the piece anonymously on a bidding website, and was unsurprised when it had immediately attracted a number of very interested online buyers. He sold the necklace quickly, and then placed an order of his own for a large quantity of Sylke on a similar digital market shortly thereafter.

 

Five days later, the necklace was placed on a small transporter pad located in the anteroom of the palace where it disappeared in a swirl lights and particles as it was transferred to the new home of its very satisfied buyer. Later that same day, Charles observed as the pad began to light up again, and a large silver box formed on top of it. The Sylke had arrived.


	2. Sylke

**2\. Sylke**

 

 

Charles wasted no time in collecting the box and racing with it straight to the in-house lab where his nearly completed project rested serenely atop a large, high metal table. He walked straight to it and placed his fresh cargo next to the frame of the half completed robotic companion with a slight huff. He wiped the slight sheen of nervous sweat off of his brow with the back of his arm, and then began to carefully examine the sides of the box. He looked until he came across a small, nearly imperceptible square of clear fabric in the upper left corner on one side of the box. Smiling happily, he reached up, lifted the flap, and pressed the palm and fingertips of his other hand flat against a miniature scanning device that was just beneath it. As soon as his fingertips were all in place, a deep digital voice immediately resounded. “Vocal code confirmation, please,” the voice intoned from the direction of the small scanner panel. Charles grinned and clearly supplied the appropriate response, “Code R01 Y77 Q46,” before removing his hand as what sounded like a series of small gears began to shift smoothly within the walls of the metal box. Slowly, one of the sides began to slide away from its adjacent edge to reveal what appeared to be a set of several glass jars filled with tens of tiny black beads. Sylke in its freshly processed form.

 

 

Charles took a slow breath in, held it, then sighed out. Then, he reached and lifted one of the jars. The sides were a fine, smooth glass and extremely cool to the touch. He held it for a moment, closely examining the contents. Such tiny things, seemingly harmless in this form within the jars. However, he knew better. So with caution he reached up and gripped the glass lid, turned it clockwise until it released its grip on the jar’s body and placed the lid on the table next to him. He then refocused the whole of his attention on the little black beads. He stared for a moment almost indecisively before turning around and reaching for a pair of solid white tongs. The moment his hands connected with their handles, a white, circular disc extended from the sides, just in front of where his hand was positioned, forming a small splash guard for said hand. Charles preferred these to the more commonplace but bulky mechanics gloves he would otherwise have to wear. And now, he used them as an extension of his fingers, to reach into the jar and select a single black bead from the pack before setting the jar back on the table and using his free hand to slowly screw the top back into place on it before returning his attention to the tiny bead he’d collected. “Thank you mother,” he said quietly to himself, acknowledging the fact that it was her necklace that had allowed him to come to care for the invaluable beads. He walked with it, still in the tongs, over to the frame of his robotics project and held it aloft directly over the center and near the realm of its chest. He settled the bead carefully on top of the smooth metal frame and then stood back to observe for a moment wondering if there would be an immediate reaction. He waited patiently but for awhile nothing seemed to be happening. Then, slowly, the bead seemed to vibrate and slowly melted down into a black liquid like substance. Charles held his breath. It now looked as though a small puddle of black oil was forming on the robots metal chest. But it was growing, and quickly. The edges of the puddle seemed to be reaching out like tens of arms in all directions, as it spread out farther and with increasing speed along the metal frame. It slipped down over the edges of the body, and defying gravity, crawled up towards the neck and lower jaw as it inched its way towards the empty eye sockets. It rolled down the long, soon-to-be, legs towards metal feet. It continued to spread until every inch of the frame was covered in the shiny, black liquid but never reached any further or slipped onto the table it rested on. In seconds, the frame was encased completely. It shone like hot black oil before slowly beginning to fluctuate and take on definition in several places at once. Where there had been a smooth flat chest, a row of slight ridges began to form. A wall of freshly defined abdominal muscles. Where a pair of five spindly metal appendages ended at the bottom of each arm, added fullness created fingers, and atop each one a small nail bed grew perfectly into place. And where there had before been empty eye sockets, the liquid Sylke had pooled heavily and round spherical shapes had begun to form. Eyes.

 

 

Charles closed his eyes, breathed out slowly, and smiled. It had begun. In a few minutes the Sylke had begun in its work and in a few more, the process would be complete. But there was one final piece that would be missing. If left in its current form upon completion, Charles would have a highly sophisticated robot, the likes of which many could only dream. But Charles didn’t want another robot. He wanted a companion. A thinking, feeling, conscious creature to walk the halls of his mechanical home with in concert. As it was, he could simply turn the machine on and order it to follow his every hollow command. But to have more than that, the machine would need a true brain. Specifically, a brain with the ability to distinguish and consider itself, its own thoughts, its needs, and a measure of consideration for the body connected to its brain in comparison from the others (e.g. Charles) around it. For this process to begin, for the robot to become a companion, Charles would have to venture to the furthest end of the lab and open his father’s vault for the final precious piece to the puzzle.

 

 

With more confidence in stride than in mind, Charles took a step back from the table and with some effort tore his eyes away from the evolution of his robot as the Sylke merged with and transformed a simple frame into a true body. He then pivoted and strode purposefully past row after row of smooth metal, wood, and glass tables, advanced apparati adjacent to to tens of tiny test tubes and beakers of liquids glowing in shades of white, blue, green, and red, sophisticated mechanical structures standing prone in between it all, and equipment neatly arranged along shelves full of ancient looking books and digital terminals stacked high along the walls. The lab was massive and rectangular. It took him a full minute of continuous walking to reach the very end, at which point he slowed and stopped before a large circular, metal door with an “X” emblazoned across it.

 

 

Charles stepped close and observed as a small panel slid open in the center and a red beam of light emitted from within. It slowly glided over him starting from his feet and quickly scanning up his body to reach his eyes, where it remained for a moment before moving up the rest of his face and then fading away as the panel slid closed once more. “Welcome to the core, Charles Xavier,” a bell like voice rang out, as the doors slowly slid up and away from the floor. Charles walked in and entered the vault.

 

 

The room was shaped like a giant sphere with a long suspended runway extending straight out from the entryway all the way to its center. At this endpoint, there was a simple glass stand with a set of what appeared to be three glass orbs positioned atop it. Charles glanced down from where he was at the beginning of the runway near the door and swallowed. A fall from the elegantly, suspended runway might be fatal at this height, or at the very least it would be painful in the extreme. And although the mechanical palace and its AI had what Charles needed for medical care, being trapped alone in a healing state for an indeterminate amount of time was something Charles had learned early on was both unpleasant and worthy of respectful avoidance whenever possible. So he carefully found his footing and walked along the straight path towards the table. Upon reaching it, he inspected each item closely before selecting the orb in the center. Although, it had the look and feel of clear glass, the exterior of the orb was actually an artificial material from the same family of Sylke but safe to human hands. It’s primary purpose was to protect and aid in the care of what was stored inside, and that which held Charles attention now. A tiny chandelier shaped structure floated in the center of the sphere. Mostly made up of highly processed versions of silicon carbide and graphene materials shaded in tones of bright gold and deep obsidian. The whole thing was rather small but more intricate than finest watch, and Charles also knew, more powerful than the highest priced spacecraft. “Remarkable,” he murmured to himself with no small amount of awe. This had been the culmination of his father’s work before his passing when Charles was young. And, now it would be the brain, the consciousness, that would bring his project fully to life. There were three brains on the stand, altogether but Charles would only need this one. So, cradling the piece carefully between his palms, he pivoted once more and moved back out across the runway until he passed through the vaults doors once more. They slowly descended behind him as he made his way back across the lengthy lab. A minute later he stood once more before the table with the robot.

 

 

The Sylke had done its work, perfectly. What was once the frame of what appeared to be a well built but relatively common robotic frame, was now clearly humanoid from head to toe and shoulder to shoulder. Charles looked at the table, frowned slightly, then turned and spotting a simple cushioned chair, strode over to it and set the sphere in its center. It wouldn’t do to have it rolling off of the smooth table. Then, sighing slightly he walked over to a small shelf next to the table and pulled a pair of mechanical gloves out and slipped them over both hands before returning to pick up the sphere and carry it back over to the robot’s table. He held the sphere out over the chest of the robotic body, as he’d done before with the Sylke, but left a slight gap between his palms towards the bottom of the object this time, and then spoke clearly, “Presenting primary quantum conscious processor to chest cavity.” He forced his arms muscles not to jump but remain rigidly still as a thin black needle of pure Sylke shot straight up from the chest to connect with the bottom of the sphere. Slowly, he moved his hands away but smiled when the sphere remained perfectly balanced on the head of the needle. Then slowly the needle lowered itself, with the sphere still atop it, down until it rested upon the robotic chest. The Surrounding Sylke from the chest area, was then able to spread up and over the ball just as it had the entire frame of the bot, before something seemed to shift in the chest cavity itself beneath it and the whole thing was sucked down and deep into the center of the chest cavity. The Sylke, having memorized its target shape by now, quickly covered, smoothed out, and reformed the shape of the humanoid chest. Then, as if sensing Charles inner anticipation for what should happen next, the Sylke appeared to tighten before softening to a natural skin like texture with the appearance of tiny pores to complete the overall look. Then, the even black coloring began to fade away, as though it was being sucked down through the newly formed pores, leaving behind a warm, slightly tanned hue that was too light to be considered bronze but settled comfortably beyond the borders of what one might consider fair toned. And then, before Charles had more than a moment to marvel over this texture and pigment adjustment, a pair of striking grey eyes opened and connected directly with his own.

 

 

For a moment, Charles seemed to be the one who had just booted up, as his brain and all ability to form words had left him entirely speechless. He stared wide-eyed for another second, before he recovered and remembered himself. “Hi!” he shouted a little too loud and eagerly before finding his composure, and continuing at a normal volume. “I’m Charles, and I’d like to welcome you to my home. Also, as this is your first day of life I’m very pleased to say, happy birthday!”

 

 

So it begins.


	3. Awareness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles helps David begin the process of learning to move around in his new body with some fascinating results. David also begins to develop an interest in the study of human expressions and emotions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, comment if you like the story so far or would like to see anything special happen in future chapters! Love Always, HJP <3

**3\. Awareness**

 

 

 

Many people believe that the body is the first thing we become aware of when we’re born. The air rushing in and out of our little mouths and noses, and the sensation of cool air on our skin. But this isn’t actually the case. The first thing we notice are the faces of the people around us. The people we need to connect with and will grow to depend on for everything we need to stay alive and well in those first few precious years of life. This too is the very first thing that David becomes aware of when he opens his eyes and narrows his focus in on Charles as he comes to life. At first he simply stares, absorbing as much data as possible and attuning every sensor he has to the boy before him. He takes down every detail. Thick, brown hair falling in loose curls, curving in a slight S pattern around a round cherubic face indicates youth. Slightly darker brown eyelashes and eyebrows set above wide blue eyes the color of azurite crystals with bits of jade dust; Light, porous skin with a smattering a light freckles sprinkled across the bridge of the nose, points to a European heritage. Age estimation between 15 to 20 years.

 

The information floods David’s mind as he continues to note each and every detail of Charles’ face from exactly how many freckles are on his nose to the shape of his ears and the dilation of his pupils. He takes it all in stride calmly analyzing it until he has enough in place to easily pull an image of this unique individual to his mind instantly. Then, effortlessly he begins to speak his first words in response to Charles strange first greeting, “Hello Charles. Thank you for welcoming me to this facility. I am still collecting the data necessary for complex communication, including verbal and body language, as well as motor functionality. However, I am connected to the Net and am learning quickly”.

 

Charles beamed, at David who after a moment of staring attempted to imitate the expression. The result was a somewhat disconcerting shark-like baring of perfectly, straight canines but Charles was so pleased by the attempt that he didn’t notice the details.

 

“That’s perfectly wonderful. One of the first things we’ll need to communicate properly with one another is a name for you, and if it’s alright with you, I have a suggestion? I’d like to call you, David. It’s somewhat simple but I think it’s a perfectly fine name for you, so what do you think of it?”

 

David seemed to process for a moment. He mentally reviewed articles, media posts, research papers, and everything he could find available with the name David attached to it on the Net, before concluding with another toothy grin and a short, “Acceptable”. Charles smiled, “Wonderful! Alright then David, as I said my name is Charles. I designed and built you here in my home using a standard metal framework.” David pulled up mental images of various robotic frames and materials as he listened attentively. “And, used a rare material called, Sylke, to encompass that frame and grant you the ability to adopt a human-like exterior or skin and form, before completing your build with a quantum conscious processor or QCP, which is akin to my human brain but quite a bit more sophisticated. There are some more things I will have to teach you because you’ve only just awakened and begun to use your QCP but I imagine that in no time at all, I’ll be looking to you to teach me many things. I think we’ll both learn a lot from one another, and I’m really delighted to have you here and awake at last. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for quite awhile, now. But I could really go on for ages, and you must have questions. So, please ask me anything you’d like to know. I promise to do my best to help you find any answers you’d like,” he finished.

 

David stared intently at Charles for a moment before taking another to further examine him and the way he was standing upright in front of the table. He observed the fall of his shoulders, the jut of his hips, and the position of his feet on the ground. Then, he looked over and down at his own body from his chest, all the way down to his legs. He slowly sat up, elevating his torso first until he was perpendicular to the table and sitting up straight. “Would you like to try standing?” Charles asked, noticing David’s examination of his legs. “There’s nothing to it. You have excellent balance and stabilization functionality. Yours is more perfect than my own organic system. I’ll stand back a bit so you have some room to test out your new legs.” David observed Charles closely as he took three steps backwards, watching where his legs bent at the knees and ankle joints and the way his feet rolled up from toe to heel as he stepped back and away from the table. Then he looked back at his own long limbs, slowly shifted his weight and swung his legs slowly over the edge of the table until both legs hung over the side and the balls of his feet touched the floor firmly. Then, he stood. Perfectly. His stance was like that of a professional bodybuilder's up on a stage with his chest held up and each shoulder falling back behind him as though wings could just as easily have hung in their place. Charles was both surprised and not, when David took his first steps towards him with strides that were as graceful as that of a professional ballet or ballroom dancer. Charles looked up at him when he finally stopped just in front of him and breathed, “Marvelous.”

 

David was just barely paying attention now though because he'd begun to absorb the great many objects and details in the surrounding lab. He stared first at his own hands and body, before moving his gaze beyond it to Charles again, and then slowly began to scan the many and varied tables, desks, chairs, shelves, and walls around him. He took everything in from the brightest bulb to the dullest, most weathered old book. There was so much data but David was not the slightest bit overwhelmed. He was intrigued. He wanted more.

 

“How would you like to put those legs to a better test? Would you like to try running?” David's attention quickly returned to Charles, as he considered the key elements of the question, while pulling up several mental images of what it could mean before settling on the response, “I am already running.” Charles chuckled, earning a confused expression from David before he explained. “With your legs, I mean. The sort of running where are you stretch out, put your new legs to the test, and determine your ability to move from one location to another at great speed. It’s much faster than walking. And a good deal more fun,” he said with a smile. This sounded very interesting to David, so he quickly agreed.

 

Charles guided them out of the lab, down the long hallways of the mechanical palace. They passed door after door, some metal, others wood, more still made of fine glass. A few were slightly ajar, revealing the contents of the room within. David noted rooms full of greenery, others overflowing with shelving and paper bound books, yet more brimming with neatly organized cooking aparati, mechanical tools, and still more with things he couldn’t quite yet identify at a glance.

 

Eventually they reached a set of stairs where Charles, grinning like a loon, hopped up onto the banister railing before swinging a smile David’s way, then focused his gaze back towards the rail as he began to slide down. He made it about an inch down the rail before a slight tug halted his momentum. He turned to find that David had grabbed the fabric of the back of his shirt to prevent him from furthering his descent. “A fall from this height has an 87.65 percent chance of resulting in either an instant fatality or grievous injuries,” David noted, before slowly releasing Charles' shirt. Charles sighed, muttered something about curbing fun, and hopped back down and off the banister before settling his hands in his pockets and walking, slightly less enthusiastically, down the stairs with David close behind.

 

Eventually, they reached the bottom. Here, unlike on the second floor of the mechanical palace, which held a number of functional rooms including the home lab, kitchen, and a wide variety of libraries, the first floor was designed as a large and open space. Another unusual trait of the space was a long, perfectly straight row of authentic, organic maple trees lined up from one end of the room to the other, and spanning at least half of a mile in total. The floor around the trees was wooden, relatively smooth, and well suited to the overall woodsy aesthetic. Charles walked across it, from his the bottom of stairs in the center of the room, over to a maple in the middle of the long row of trees. He paused, looked back at David, then with little warning took off down the path running and laughing. He paused for just a second when he reached the third tree down the row, tapped it lightly, and ran back to stop again at the first near the stairs and David. Charles turned to David, gestured at the row of trees, and excitedly encouraged, “Give it a try!” David stared at Charles, glanced over at the row of trees, studied them and then moved to position himself next to the first by Charles. He situated his new body weight low and down, creating a runner's stance, and then like lightning, he took off running.

 

His strides were long, like that of a great jungle cat’s, as he passed the first tree, the next, and the one after. He ran, and ran, all the way to the very end of the row at the edge of the room. Then while simultaneously turning to lightly touch the last tree with his fingertips, he pivoted on one foot, spun, and raced back the other way even faster than before, with a pace that would have made professional sprinters drool with envy. When he finally reached Charles at the center tree once more, he immediately halted, straightened back up to his full height, reached up to brush back his windswept hair, and casually commented, “According to the records I have noted on the Net, I have exceeded the human record for completing a quarter mile in under a minute”. Charles who was still processing the speed at which he’d just seen David achieve on his race back to him, stared with his mouth hung slightly ajar, and then replied, “I can believe it because that was incredible. That's the fastest I’ve ever seen anyone run on the Net, myself, and was nothing short of inspiring, David!” David looked at Charles and gave another of his sharky, new grins.

 

“I am also learning a great deal from my exposure to you and the many things I am able to sense and observe throughout this facility,” David noted, as he glanced over his shoulder back at the row of maple trees, then raised and looked to his right hand, which he’d used to touch the last tree at the end of the row, before lowering it, glancing around once more and then settling a penetrating gaze on Charles once more. Charles nodded, agreeing. “Yes, the body is the first thing I thought you might need to master. Consideration for yourself, your form, and your sensors ability to help you get in touch with everything that’s going on around you”. David nodded once slowly and added, “Observing you, Charles, and others virtually via the Net is also helping me to build up a vocabulary for the various actions that humans seem to perform. Running is a popular and healthy activity. I will do so again, as it also allows me to assess and improve my body’s motor functionality more so than sitting, standing, and walking.” He paused before adding, “I would also like to learn more about facial expressions in order to properly evaluate human ‘moods’,” he said. Charles put a hand up to his chin and rubbed thoughtfully. “Hmm yes, that one can be difficult even for some humans and there’s always been some debate about how well any one individual can truly read another to this day. For our purposes, I’ll simply suggest that you study me. Note my facial expressions, eyes, mouth, any wrinkles, or color that appears or disappears from my skin, along with other cues. For example, the motions I make with my hands, arms, and upper body to create a specific posture. Over time, you should begin to notice patterns that suggest that I’m leaning towards one specific mood or set of moods versus another, such as happiness, melancholy, or contentment. It may help if you practice expressing this as well, when you feel one mood or another. That, combined with spoken words, will empower us to communicate clearly and teach one another whenever we need to do so. All that aside, please ask me questions whenever they come to you. If you want to know more about an expression or something 'mood' related, I’ll try my best to explain it further.”

 

David considered all of this, then slowly smiled and nodded once at Charles, who smiled back encouragingly. “I am happy to learn in this way with you Charles,” David supplied. Charles’ smile turned into an outright grin, and he clapped David on the shoulder, before exclaiming, “Let’s move our learning onto the next stage then, and visit the Cycle Centre!” David did a quick scan for appropriate responses to match his confusion before, settling with simply raising an eyebrow. This sounded interesting.


	4. Attachment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pair continue to navigate their way through the mechanical palace with Charles leading the way. David begins to question the differences between himself and Charles on the journey, before being distracted by the wonder that is the Cycle Centre and its many innovative wonders, including a pair of intriguing black cubes. For the finale, these competitive spirits have some fun and take flight! But at what cost?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please, comment if you'd like to see any special events or have thoughts about the story thus far! I love to read what you all think and feel. Love Always <3 ~ HJP

**4\. Attachment**

  
  


 

 

David considered the enigma that was the boy before him, as he was guided back over to the foot of the staircase. He was silent in his study but his mind poured restlessly over the many unanswered questions that rushed through his thoughts. Why had he been created and granted consciousness unlike the many other bits of technology he’d observed in passing throughout the mechanical palace? Where precisely was here? What was Charles thinking right now? David could ascertain a great many things he wished to know, at least on a surface level, from his frequent scanning of the vast knowledge base that was the Net. He read and dissected digital articles, corroborated them with visual footage in the form of virtual reality videos, games, and imagery. But there was no channel, no backdoor, no easy access to the information stored within this, his first human connection. The differences he was beginning to add up between himself, this human who had brought him to life, and the rest of the Net were substantial. And, it made Charles all the more fascinating to David. Here was one place, one person, from which he could not find immediate answers. He was pulled from these thoughts when he noticed that the boy in question had reached the foot of the stairs.

 

 

Once there he stopped, rather than ascending onto the steps, and Charles rested his hands, palm in palm, behind his back before lowering his gaze and plainly speaking to the palace AI, “Jarvis, please open and ready the Cycle Centre for David and I”. The AI responded with a simple, “Of course, sir”. David looked up and, focused in on a series of small flat speakers blending in with the ceiling of the room from which the voice was originating. However, his attention was quickly diverted from these by the sudden activity before him. The bottom three steps of the staircase were moving. First, the bottom, then the second, and finally the third steps lowered themselves down until the were completely flat and aligned with the surrounding wooden floor panels. Four rectangular glass panels then, slid straight up from the ground around the edges of this new floor area to surround the space, creating a rectangular cuboid. Charles stepped up to the front-facing glass panel, and David observed as it lowered itself back down and out of the way, so that Charles could step into the center of the space. He looked back at David and extended a palm, gesturing to the additional space inside. “This is an elevator,” he explained. “It will transport us down below the first floor of the house and into the Cycle Centre, where we can run our next test. Will you join me?” David studied the glass walls curiously for another second, and then stepped into the elevator taking up the space next to Charles, before the doors closed in behind them both, and they began their descent.

 

 

For a moment it was totally dark, as the view of the first floor disappeared and there was nothing but black metal to see on all four sides. But this passed quickly, as neon green lights flickered on within the elevator and a wide screen spanning all four sides of the cabin turned on, showing scenes of the different parts of the house, namely the view of the trees and front door from the staircase for the moment. “You can change the view to see any part of the house at anytime from here,” Charles said and indicated a row of smooth circles of different colors lined up along the left corner of the front glass panel near his side. “The blue one reveals the lab, green is for the first floor, etc.” David noted that the buttons were digital but didn’t have time to press one, as he observed that the elevator was slowing. Shortly after, it stopped, and the front panel slid down once more. They had arrived at their destination, the Cycle Centre.

 

 

Impressive, sleek, modern, and marvelous were a few terms that would come to mind for most people seeing it for the very first time. And it was, all of that, and more. The room was long, and ovular with high ceilings supporting row upon row of long stretches of white lights situated in flat panels. The walls were of a soft, smoothly finished, and malleable material decorated in a soft shade of powder white. These walls were embedded with responsive virtual screens with the capability to display a number of distinct scenes to give the room’s inhabitant(s) the option to “be” anywhere from a lush forest or dry sahara to an electronic light show or city scape. However, what drew David’s attention beyond all of this was the ground. Beginning a few feet away from the door and extending in a complete and long oval shape all the way around the room’s edges was a wide ocean blue track with white lanes and red distance markings measured out across its surface. This track, surrounded a large green, artificial turf designed to look and feel as real as freshly grown grass but with the unique ability to change to any color of the visible spectrum. As the two took their first steps forwards onto the track, synthetic red lights appeared all along the edges of two of the track lanes. David also noticed that the ground was perfectly firm and flat.

 

 

“It’s mostly made of advanced gel and polymer based materials that are self-leveling and designed to last, well potentially indefinitely. We can run just about anything, including our feet, on this and it will allow us to perform to the best of our abilities by absorbing shock, spikes, and heat. It also happens to programmable to adapt its deflective efficiency and offer us varying degrees of rebound or bounce. But seeing is believing, so,” Charles raised his voice a bit and said, “Jarvis, please set Cycle surface deflection to 15 percent.” Jarvis responded from direction of the elevator’s speaker systems with a politely, simple, “Of course.” Immediately, the ground beneath Charles’ and David’s feet shifted, twisted, and warped for a few seconds. And when David lifted one foot a moment later to examine the bottom of his simple day shoes, he found that the bottom was a deep blue color like the track, and had additional contours that hadn’t been there before. They now appeared to be well suited to an even smoother stride. Then to demonstrate his earlier point Charles took a step into the first lane, slid one foot back, crouched down a bit, before taking three running steps down the lane. And then on the fourth, he dug his front sole and toes into the ground and leaped!

 

 

Charles leaped almost straight up into the air though his forward momentum from the run kept him moving along the path of the track until he landed and jumped again. His body was propelled forward like a moon walking, astronauts but with far greater momentum, and it continued moving on a bit faster with each successive grasshopper like hop. David stared on in amazement, before walking forward onto the track himself. He studied the ground, dug his feet in, and without hesitation joined in the fun with a running start of his own. He ran forward, noting how light his body felt here as he moved forward along the track’s unusual surface, in comparison to the experience he’d had running on the wood floors of the first floor. Then, he took a leap and practically flew forwards down the lane gaining fast on Charles’ heels. In no time at all, he caught up and was racing at Charles’ side. They ran and leaped several times, before running a few more paces and continuing on with several more high flying jumps down the track. David noted how Charles, would adjust his footing when they approached the curves at the far end of the track to ensure he stayed in the lane rather than continuing straight on into the wall at the end, and so adjusted his own footing to match both form and stride, and stay on course. As soon as they were out of the curve though, David pushed forwards and outpaced his companion significantly to speed down the track. And with one final massive, flying leap jumped from the midpoint on the second half of the track, coming up higher and farther forward than ever before, jettisoning his body and pinwheeling his arms to stabilize until he landed squarely back at the starting point in a squat that was only slightly jarring to his joints due to the tracks forgiving surface. Charles, whooped and laughed as he caught up a few seconds later, skidding to a halt in his retrofitted footwear. He bent over his knees, breathing heavily for a moment, then stood up and flashed a megawatt grin David’s way before running over to a section of the wall near the elevator. He placed his hand against a small scanner panel there, enabling a quick identification process to complete, and then stood back a bit as a small square door swung open. David could just barely make out its contents as he reached in with both hands to pull something out, before the door closed and he turned to see a pair of what appeared to be tiny black cubes held out in the boys palms. Charles walked back over to David and handed one the tiny boxes to him to hold. David held it aloft between his thumb and forefinger, noting that the box was quite smooth, shiny, and apparently metallic. Charles glanced at David, smiled, then clearly held his box out in his palm and used the thumb of that same hand to carefully press against the right side surface of the little cube. Within seconds the thing began to emit a buzzing sound, and transitioned from black to a sharp, neon yellow color on all sides. As soon as the yellow color had reached all 6 sides, Charles tossed the cube high into the air. It reached maximum velocity, then began to descend, and to drastically reshape itself. From all sides, sharp, distinct shapes protruded and melded together in the space of a heartbeat, until it fell almost all the way back to the ground but without quite touching the floor. Instead, it slowed and hovered just above the track’s surface. What was once a tiny black box was now, a sleek, neon yellow hoverbike. “Depending on which side you press your finger to while hold the cube in your palm, you’ll get a different transport option but I’m partial to the bike,” Charles explained. “You simply press the square in the middle here,” Charles indicated a a tiny graphic near the front of the new hoverbike, directly between its handlebars, “And it will return to the starting form. Just remember to step off first, so that you don’t fall off balance during the transition phase. The bottom is neutral because you have to hold it there of course, but the other five sides transition into a flight based vessel (2), an enclosed four wheeled vehicle rather like a car (3), an HSIC or high speed interceptor craft, which are basically really fast boats capable of zipping along on just about any liquid surface (4), as well as some pretty unique but really fun skates (5).”

 

 

David’s eyes widened as he looked back at the black box in his palm, consideringly. There was nothing on the Net about such devices that he could find. And, there was nothing about it that gave away it’s many possible transformative features. It appeared to be a nice, but basically simple black cube. Nonetheless, he pressed his finger to the side, as he’d seen Charles do previously, tossed it into the air, and observed the same metamorphosis with his tiny black box, as it fell before him in the shape of a matching yellow hoverbike. He looked over to see Charles was already sitting astride his with one hand on a handlebar. He smiled, placed his other hand on the other bar and quickly showed David how to position his hands and squeeze a pair of grooves in the front in order to move the bike slightly forward. This time, David was the one to grin, and then take off down the track ahead of Charles who laughed and shot off after him.

 

 

They were about halfway down with David in the lead, Charles not far behind, and approaching the first curve when Charles called out, “Jarvis, please increase course complexity for lane one to by ten degrees.” Immediately, a series of short, neon blue walls began to shoot up and down from the course’s surface blocking the lane and forcing Charles to swerve left and right on the bike. David slowed and glanced back a bit to see Charles, zig zagging his way through the obstacle course. “Twenty degrees!” he shouted. And, the course itself began to shift along his lane, forming steep hills and drops, that Charles could either swerve around using the remaining, unaffected flat lanes on the track or could zoom up and down on. He chose to go up. Feeling confident and happy to have an audience for the first time in his life, he shouted, “Fifty percent!” while he was halfway up the second incline he’d encountered on the track. He was laughing happily, and David finally slowed to stop and just watch as he zoomed up a considerable height, clearly aiming to shoot forwards enough to land on the next upcoming hill in sight. And then, failed to correct his balance just enough to clip the front of the craft against the top of the incline, flip over the handlebars, losing his grip on the bike entirely. He flew forwards for about two full seconds before crashing down, not on the springy surface of the track but onto the unforgiving metal bike, before rolling away a few feet and coming to a stop on the track, lying curled in on one side and not moving.


	5. Update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update

Hi Readers, this is just a quick update to let you know that I'm editing chapter 5 and will have it up tomorrow before 2pm :) So you know when to come see where adventure next takes our boys in Mechanical Palace.

I'm adding this short update here because I've followed unfinished tales before and it's heartbreaking to find delays without explanations, so I don't want you to think I'm missing a chapter here at all. I love writing this, and there's much more to come! Check it out Sunday loves! ;) ~ Love Always HJP


	6. Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Charles together learn some things the hard way, leading the latter of the pair to dig deeper into the history of the creator he is coming to form a fast and easy friendship with, along the with new and critical insights into his parentage and the Mechanical Palace that they left behind to care for their young son. Jarvis also seeks to express some concerns of his own as the palace AI, which plants seeds of suspicion in the mind of David. Questions arise and secrets grow. David will have answers, one way or another, soon enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy to see that the audience for this tale is growing, but am still eagerly awaiting commentary from all of you lovely readers. It's inspiring to see what you think of the plot, characters, and pick your brains for ideas that you too would like to see come alive in the story. Drop a note, or a kudos so I know how you feel and can bring you into the beautful world of the Mechanical Palace, too ;) That said, on with the next chapter of the tale! ~ Love Always HJP

**5\. Recovery**

 

 

 

 

David’s first reaction upon seeing Charles fly through the air and miss his landing was to watch curiously, to see how he might correct his balance on the way down and ensure a proper (e.g. safe and well balanced) landing. So far, David had seen Charles demonstrate complete capability in his actions and there was little reason to doubt that he’d do so again. However, it soon became clear that this landing was going to be far from balanced or reasonable by any definition, and seconds later he instead crashed down, hard upon his own hoverbike. David immediately pushed off of his own vehicle and ran over to help, noting a series of unusual, new sensations as he did so. His hands seemed to vibrate a bit, almost trembling, until he forced the appendages into stillness, his focus became overwhelmingly narrow, and his thinking processes were less clear than usual as he quickly scanned volumes of data on human anatomy, injuries, and caretaking all at once with some bits of information overlapping others, somewhat uncomfortably. Upon reaching the prone body of the boy he’d come to depend on, he kneeled and called his name a few times to determine if he might wake on his own to offer some further guidance, before taking matters into his own hands. He reached forwards, carefully pressing the pads of his fingers to Charles neck and relaxed a bit when he felt a steady pulse. He then began running his fingertips along the vertebrae of Charles’ backbones first, before feeling around his chest and stomach, trying to determine if there were any major injuries he could detect that might discourage further movement. Finding nothing too alarming, he slowly began to roll the boy from his side and onto his back, earning a slight unconscious groan from Charles in the process, before swiftly scooping both arms under his shoulder blades and knees in order to stand with the full weight of Charles’ body evenly distributed between his arms. David was attentive to every detail, though the process took less than a minute, and as soon as he was sure that his young cargo was positioned to receive no further harm within his arms, he strode as quickly as possible back towards the elevator at the opposite end of the track.

 

 

When he was halfway there, the palace AI spoke up. “I am accustomed to caretaking for Master Charles in the event of poor health but your method is efficient, as well.” There was a pause, before it continued. “Medical care is available on Underground Level One, two levels above the Cycle Centre via the elevator. Press the yellow indicator button upon entry.” David complied, lifting and using his left knee to reach up and lightly press against the yellow button as the doors closed behind him, and soon after they began their ascent. It seemed that the creator’s companion had become the caretaker for the afternoon.

 

 

He worked quickly, following Jarvis’ instructions closely, to get Charles from the Cycle Centre to the in-home medical care level. Not unlike the elevator button assigned to it, David noted that the room itself was decorated in sterile whites and sharp yellows from floor to ceiling and all throughout. “Deposit him on the biobed in the center of the room,” Jarvis instructed upon their arrival and entry. He quickly complied and walked over to a large tubular structure surrounded by glass on all sides and with a table firmly situated in the center. The whole apparatus was suspended above the hard, sterile floor by what appeared to be large yellow wires with fluids pumping through them and connecting directly into the sides of the tube itself.

 

 

As he approached, the glass lid lifted up and out of the way, so he could carefully lay and position Charles down on the soft table of the biobed. He made sure that all of his limbs were laying straight, flat, and that he looked relatively comfortable before stepping away and observing as the glass lid descended and closed with its new charge sealed inside.

 

 

Immediately upon closing, a bright yellow light scanned up and down Charles’ body, and digital text appeared and began to scroll across side of the glass facing towards David. Though he paid little attention to the readings, as something more interesting, and a bit concerning, was beginning to take place within the glass chamber itself. A row of small, but long and thin, crystalline needles had begun to protrude from the bottom edges of the chamber on either side of the boy’s prone form. They glistened as they slowly elevated until they were all directly in line with several body parts, neck, arms, legs. Then, there was a light beep before they all, in sync, shot forward to pierce deeply into the skin for less than a second before pulling out and away again, to disappear back and down beneath the edges of the bed.

 

 

Next, a row of six smooth metallic, arm-like appendages appeared, and began to lift and rotate limbs in some cases and in others worked to apply light force to varying pressure points across the body. Wrists were lifted and fingers were splayed slightly then relaxed, while calves were lifted and feet moved about, everything with complete attention to the finest of details. Eventually, the mechanical arms were focused entirely on the midsection and forehead, the latter if which had some slight bruising. An arm retracted, and returned with and adjusted ending, as a nozzle now, which was then used to spray a thin layer of a white, cleansing foam. Another appendage quickly appeared with a cloth and dabbed it away, before the same nozzle again release a substance, this time oozing out a thicker, amber gel onto the wound. Another arm left and returned with a clean, white bandage that all the limbs worked together to stretch out, center, and perfectly position onto the wound, before they all moved on to further treat the midsection. They lightly and quickly pressed in on different areas from a number of angles, then repositioned themselves and worked together to rip away Charles shirt from the center for easier access and repeated the procedure. There was some more serious discoloration and bruising on the left side of the body, David noted with wide eyes. But the biobed was perfectly equipped to treat the injury. A single needle appeared to protrude from the far left side of the chamber. It elevated, hovered directly over the injury site, and from an angle that was slightly above the patient this time, slowly penetrated the injured area. A moment later, a thin stream of ruby red liquid was sucked back up through the needle and away from the body. The excess fluid was drawn from the abdominal area for only a few seconds, before the needle retracted away entirely and the and the arms went back to work again, cleansing and bandaging up the site of the wound. Once they’d finished their work, they too followed suit, retracting back into the biobed as well.

 

 

It, like most of the Mechanical Palace’s tools and instruments, was highly effective, gentle, and showcased performance that allowed for both attention to fine details and sophisticated speed. “Like me,” David thought to himself, glancing down at his own appendages, which he’d only recently become acquainted with but had proven to be both highly responsive and dexterous. His legs had demonstrated to him the explosive speed that enabled him to beat Charles down the track, while his hands had granted to him the fine control necessary to handle and carry his creator quickly to safety. He glanced back up at the biobed, holding its charge. The glass side was still displaying information about Charles’ current condition, including details on everything from his blood pressure, brain activity, and respiration rate to his vitamin, overall nutrition levels, and deficits. A single line at the end read out the ETA for recovery and capsule door opening: 4-8 hours.

 

 

He looked back up at the capsule chamber once more, noting a high pitched sound indicating a release of pressure coming from somewhere near the machine. After a moment, the reason became clear, as the entire cavity of the biobed began to slowly fill up, from bottom to top, with a pale yellow cloud of vapor, designed to further aid its sole patient in his healing process, while also improving overall physical condition, particularly in relation to respiration and cognition (e.g. thinking, memory, etc.).

 

 

“No major damage has been sustained,” Jarvis’ voice suddenly spoke up. “The recuperation process should be no more than 12 hours in total, at most 8 of which will be concluded within the biobed before he will awaken and be able to manage the remainder of it independently. It’s best if he remains in the chamber to expedite and ensure completion of the process for optimum results until that point.”

 

 

David didn’t respond to this. He was busy reflecting on what he’d learned from his scans of the Net, his observations of the fascinating creature that was young Charles living alone in this vast and sophisticated Mechanical Palace, and upon himself. If there was one thing that this experience had taught him, it was that human bodies were incredibly fragile things. Far more so than his own synthetic one. Charles might appear similar to David in many ways but he was delicate. David would remember this in the future, and strive to take better care when testing, playing, or learning new things in his company. Because while David might be able to achieve great feats, balance, strength, and speed, he had a lot he wanted to learn from Charles, and didn’t wish to see him come to further harm or in need of a biobed again, anytime soon.

 

 

Jarvis was quiet for a moment. The AI simply observed David, as he in turn observed the healing process taking place within the biobed, before speaking up once more. “There is information I have stored that you may benefit from having as well in regards to the care and safety of Master Charles.” David pinched his brows together slightly, a facial movement he’d seen others express via the Net, and nodded without actually taking his eyes away from the chamber. “You may be a great asset in my efforts to ensure that Charles remains healthy and well, if you agree to discourage some of his more high risk activities, such as the set of actions he chose to take within the Cycle Centre, today.” David looked down but then, nodded and said, “Agreed,” mostly to see what else Jarvis would offer. “High risk activities are common for humans of Charles’ age, particularly in increasingly social settings. He is likely to repeat this behavior again in the future, if not the exact same actions, in your presence. You may assist by dissuading him from such behavior in a way that I am unable to do so.” David nodded, having no real interest or intention of dictating to or shaping Charles’ behavioral patterns unless truly necessary. He knew he would be more than capable of preventing him from coming to harm if this became an issue again in the future but held back this insight.

 

 

Then he chose to follow up with a question of his own for the palace AI. “This seems an opportune moment to learn more about you Jarvis.” The AI was silent. “As well as your knowledge of Charles, and this facility, which he seems to have inhabited singularly until my arrival.” The AI remained silent still but David went on, understanding that it was listening intently, regardless. “I am still coming to terms with my individual purpose in this new world. I understand that Charles would like me to learn from him for a time, until I have enough data to aid him in furthering his own education. Based upon his current behavioral patterns, I believe he also seeks a deeper relationship that would be termed, friendship, which I too would like to explore beyond our collaborative learning aims.” He paused, then. “However, I am unclear as to the reason for his being within this particular space, the likes of which is unparalleled to anything I have seen in my cursory scans of the Net. I believe I would … feel ...,” he hesitated and tilted his head slightly before continuing, “Disappointed to find that my creator was being held in captivity against his will, in part, because this would be a hindrance to his education. Is this the case?”

 

 

Jarvis remained unresponsive for a moment, before slowly formulating and supplying a response to appease David. “Charles is the Master of the Mechanical Palace and its many resources. His parents, as the original founders arranged for his care and well-being here, within their home.” David listened patiently, while internally, maintaining his suspicion of the AI and its answers. “I am unable to provide,” it continued. “Or unwilling,” David thought quietly. “The details with respect to Charles parent’s and their orders regarding his care in great detail but all instructions were made with their son, and his safety in all areas, being the center of their concerns. It is true that he has not ventured beyond the borders of the Palace, as it would be considered unsafe for him to do so for reasons I cannot share. However, I can assure you that he has not displayed interest in this himself for approximately one complete year.”

 

 

As nicely put together as the entire explanation had been by the intelligent AI that was Jarvis, David’s processing capabilities were superior and he gathered deeper insights into both what had been said and several possible conclusions, from what clearly been held back. Chief among them being that, Charles was being actively discouraged and prevented from leaving the Palace and its AI, as a result of orders it had been given by his parents, was part of this problem. “He needs me,” David thought to himself. Jarvis might be uncompromising but he could be useful later, so David visibly smiled as he'd done for Charles and verbally agreed. Internally though, he made a decision. He would help Charles to override his oh so helpful home AI, and if he so wished, to escape from his palace to see the wider world and what he could learn from it. The adventure was just beginning.


	7. Override

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Charles come to an agreement, and Jarvis learns his new place in the hierarchy with a new AI around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a day late (the weekend holiday slowed my publication time a bit) but the next installment is here at last! Please enjoy and comment or give some kudos to this chapter if you're enjoying the story thus far. ~ Love Always HJP <3

**6\. Override**

  


 

There’s a light beeping sound, everything feels relaxed, and heavy, when Charles slowly drifts back into awareness several hours later, blinking sleepily up at the slowly elevating door of the biobed. He exhales and his breath, along with the remainder of the healing yellow gases that had been trapped inside the chamber, are released and quickly escape out into the room.

 

 

He lifts one leaden arm and places his hand on his abdomen, feeling the firm, starchy bandages that have been adhered to his torso, before moving on and up to lightly brush his bangs out of the way in order to feel around the edges of the second set of fabric around his forehead. He groans in both embarrassment and annoyance, mostly at himself, before slowly shifting his weight up and forward so that he can sit up straight.

 

 

“You are awake.” He turns to see that David is approaching from the entrance with what looks to be a silver tray with a single bowl and glass atop it. “I have prepared some soup to aid you in your healing process and to help correct what appears to be a vitamin imbalance. I intended to give it to you upon your awakening,” he explained as he examined his young friend. Charles nodded slowly, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and smiled groggily at David. “Thank you, David. And, also I’m afraid I must apologize. For being reckless enough to end up here in the first place. I never intended for this to be the way you spent your first afternoon. I just wanted to show you some of the fun of being alive, how to manipulate your body, and help you learn some novel ways to move around in different environments.” He moved and swung his legs over the side of the bed to dangle above the floor, then faced David more directly. “I didn’t mean to leave you to fend for yourself. I’m sorry,” he finished, looking directly into David’s eyes with a tense and slightly slightly crestfallen expression.

 

 

David set the tray down on one side the biobed and then took a seat on the other side of Charles. “I know,” he stated simply. “I do not require an apology because I hold no condemnation or grievance against you. I understood your intentions well enough, now better than before, and I understand your reasoning to have been sound despite the results.” He paused before adding, “I would like to ensure that you are safe and in good health in the future. Though, this should not impede our ability to continue any mutual learning experiences together. When you are fully recovered, I would in fact, very much like to continue them with you.” Charles stared wide eyed in surprise for a moment, and then practically beamed at David.

 

 

“Well, I’ll do my best to get back to full functionality as soon as possible then!” he replied. David smiled back and nodded approvingly, before gesturing to the nearby tray of food. “I used some of the time you spent within the biobed undergoing your more intensive recovery to methodically explore the many rooms of this facility. I now have a near perfect mental map of every space including the kitchens, which I discovered about halfway through my journey. I returned there after completing my mapping and retrieved several recipes and cooking tutorials from the Net in order to prepare this dish for you. It is a traditional, homestyle, vegetable and herbs soup. I understand that soups have a positive effect on the human immune system and are best enjoyed at a temperature slightly above that of the room, so this has been set to approximately 80 degrees but has been cooling for approximately 5 minutes and will be a bit less than that, now. Will you partake of it, regardless?”

 

 

Charles smiled and reached to lift a white, porcelain bowl from the tray lying next to him with an indulgent smile. He shifted it a bit so he could hold it firmly with one hand, then used the other to grasp a small spoon that was resting inside the golden liquid within and blew gently before taking a sip of the soup. It was perfectly warm, smooth and light, and had the correct percentage of vegetables to broth mixed into the dish. And Charles would certainly have called it perfect, if asked. Perfectly, horrible. Despite everything being cooked to perfection and warmed to palatable levels, there was absolutely zero flavor to speak of throughout the entire concoction. David had somehow managed to make a dish that was overflowing with a variety of herbs and produce, taste drier than sand. It was honestly one of the least appetizing meals he’d ever experienced.

 

 

He gulped down his first spoonful, paused to consider his dilemma. Then took another spoonful to see if he’d just gotten a poor first sip, only to confirm beyond doubt his first conclusion. It was horrible, and there was no saving that. There was also no way he could possibly eat the entire thing. So he set the dish aside, carefully avoiding David’s penetrating gaze. Just as he was about to explain that he really wasn’t that hungry and would try more a bit later, David read him like a book. “You dislike the soup,” he said with a bit of a question but more finality to the statement. “I suppose I am not skilled in all things, just yet then. Although, I believe I may prepare it with greater finesse in the future with your assistance. My taste receptors may not align with yours as they primarily serve to detect elements and to alert me to dangerous substances. Also, my scans of the Net provided me with less information in regards to the more delicate art of flavoring than I believe I require for you. Each recipe seemed to have its own take on the best way to cook the meal, so I selected the healthiest and simplest method. However, your facial expression suggests that this was insufficient.” He paused before adding, slowly. “I would rather that you tell me the truth of your thoughts so that I may improve than to shield them from me. I will learn better in this way,” David stated, solemnly.

 

 

Charles breathed a sigh of relief, shook his head, looked back at David and smiled. “Okay,” he breathed out. “Well, the truth is that I was very happy to see that you’d taken the time to think about me while you continued with your learning about the palace and that you then went further to make something to help me feel better. I do enjoy soup from time to time, and yours is technically perfect in every way from the texture to the temperature, and ingredients.” He hesitated before adding more. “It’s just … the taste is a bit ... lacking. I mean some people like to have less but I enjoy strong, savory dishes that are sweet, spicy, tangy, or even a bit salty sometimes. Anything to bring out the flavor of the ingredients you have to work with for the meal.” He then rushed to add, “But that’s not the most important thing about this! I can help you learn to cook flavorful dishes, anytime. I still really appreciate what you’ve done for me by making this meal. It really is perfect in the way that matters most to me. In that it was done with good intentions by you for me. To help me to feel better. And, it does. So that matters, David.”

 

 

David processed this feedback for a moment, then nodded sharply and smiled slightly. “You continue to surprise me, Charles. Yes, I would like to learn more about the art of cooking with your aid.” Charles smiled back at this. “Although, first there is another issue, which I would like to discuss with you, regarding your time in this facility.” Charles’ smile dissipated a bit but he nodded, encouragingly. “I would like to explore the reason that you are alone here. My scans of the Net suggest that many humans of your age would spend a percentage of their time amongst others like themselves in society, beyond their homes, in order to gain the benefits of groups care, education, and socialization. The palace with its AI,” he glanced up at the cameras in the room wherein Jarvis, in part, resided and watched, “Can manage some of your upbringing without issue. Though, my studies suggest an unavoidable conclusion, which leads me to ask if you have ever tried to leave and explore environments beyond your home?" David observed closely now, noting how Charles’ gaze had also drifted upwards to the cameras and quickly retreated, before settling somewhere near the floor. "It is my understanding that friends are truthful with one another, so I ask that you continue to speak honestly to me despite any concerns you may have."

 

 

Charles released a gust of breath. "Yes." And then, "Yes, I have wanted to leave the palace many times in the past. Jarvis and I, have spoken at length about that but I understand that I am ... better here than out there. That I have everything I need within the Mechanical Palace. Also, I … I can't.” He laughed shortly and humorlessly. “The palace provides me with everything but it's also programmed to keep me safe and that means keeping me locked inside of it. I've tried to asking permission, overriding systems, leaving through doors, windows, chimneys, and other passages, all to no avail. I always find myself feeling very drowsy about halfway through the ordeal and then awaken several hours later in the biobed to a lengthy lecture from Jarvis. So, I stopped looking for ways out after awhile. But it is something I've wished for, and … still do." David listened intently, reading his every minute expression as he explained it all. Fear, anger, sorrow, defeat, acceptance chased each other across his face. David had spent enough time building up information from both the Net and Charles to begin to identify these emotions somewhat accurately, and to understand their significance.

 

 

He considered his friend before replying simply, "Then, I think it is past time that you leave." Charles looked up at David with an expression of utter confusion. "Jarvis is a powerful machine that works efficiently to do its duty and keep you safe." He raised one hand to rest over his chest. "I, was built better. And, with far greater power." He raised the hand again, and pointed it towards the cameras. Charles looked over at them, to find that they were beginning to droop down into a neutral position, pointing away from them and to see that the little red power lights near their base were fading out, indicating that they were turning themselves off. "David?" Charles asked, still staring at the cameras.

 

 

"I have explored more than the physical layout of the palace in my time alone. I have also noted, and accessed, its computing systems. I can now override its AI in order to create greater privacy when that is preferred. I can also open any door or window, and permit you to safely enter or exit as you so choose. The choice is yours."

 

 

Charles eyes had widened more with every word. He had questions of his own but all he could manage was to softly whisper, "I … I can go outside of the palace." David nodded and added, "I will journey with you to continue learning and can ensure no further interference from Jarvis." Charles just sat frozen and staring at him in wonder for a moment, and then launched himself at David to wrap both arms around him in an embrace.

 

 

He mumbled something unintelligible into David's shirt. "I cannot understand your speech at this angle," David said looking curiously down at this new and unexplored display of human emotion. Charles pulled back with a huff, and somewhat suspiciously damp eyes, before more clearly stating, "Thank you, David." Then with a light laugh he added, "Let's take a trip beyond the usual borders." David grinned and helped him to his feet.


	8. Update 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update 2

Hi Readers!

This is just another brief update to let you all know that I'm editing the final elements of chapter 8. I've truly enjoyed crafting this section of the story because of how very inspired I've been by how many of you are turning up to read, and all the interesting ideas I've had for our characters and their world over the past week. The plot is actually going in a much more adventurous direction than I'd originally planned based on a few new theories I've had about everything and I think you'll enjoy it immensely! The next installment will be up and ready to read by Saturday or Sunday at the latest :)

Again, I love writing for you all, and am eager to see your reactions after Sat/Sunday loves! ;) ~ Love Always HJP


	9. Beyond Borders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles teaches David a little about the fine art of flavoring, explains why he loves to cook, and shares some of himself in the process. David continues to consider his human friend and decides to take charge to help Charles seek out the freedom he's been deprived of for much of his life. However, no great journey is simple and sometimes the most lasting lessons come less than easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys have no idea how ridiculously, ecstatically, happy and slightly overwhelmed (in the best possible way) I am to see that people have stopped by to read this story. I do keep track of the hits for this and recently saw that there are close to 200, already o.O O.o o.O I will write no matter what because I believe in good stories as much as I do in finishing what you start to with zeal! It's still so wonderfully, motivating to get such reception though, and I stayed up a little later than usual just so that I could get this next chapter out and published for you all tonight :D
> 
> And, there are even a few kudos for which I am endlessly grateful to the lovely WakaLakaAlchemist, Naleestak, and ArtificialGalaxy. You guys are the absolute best and I love you! And now, on with the story, but also as always ~ Love HJP <3

**7\. Beyond Borders**

  
  


 

With a little help from David, the two managed to navigate and make their way to the palace kitchens, where Charles proceeded to give David an introduction to the power of salt, butter, and spices designed to flavor common foods. “Good food often has at least one or more of four key components included in its preparation. Salt, fat, acid, and heat,” Charles explained as he handed the bowl he’d finished washing off to David for drying. “I understand heat to be a common requirement for the sterilization and cooking of human foods. What role do these other components serve?,” David questioned curiously. “They seem to provide little nutritional value.” Charles nodded and explained, “Not really but it’s more enjoyable to eat foods that have at least a little of those components, included. Salt, for example is wonderful for flavoring many foods. I especially love it because it can enhance a dish by both balancing sweetness and suppressing bitterness. And, it’s not all bad. It has an essential nutrient, sodium, which I need at least a little of anyway.” David nodded consideringly. “Although, there is an ample amount of it in many foods already,” Jarvis patronized from a nearby speaker. Charles rolled his eyes at this interruption before drying his hands off on a dish towel, after handing a final utensil to David for a quick dry. David too ignored this and added, “Fascinating. I will consider this in the future, and will practice including varying amounts of this, salt, into future dishes.”  Jarvis sighed loudly, and would have elaborated on his earlier point but David cut off the tangent before it could begin by quickly asking, “And acid?”

 

 

Charles grinned and walked over to a small, white, box shaped machine with a single, triangular green button on its surface. He tapped it lightly, and leaned close to clearly state, “Lemon, small.” Three seconds later, the button faded from green to red, before the surface lifted straight up and rolled away, allowing David to peer over and see as Charles reached in to retrieve the single, yellow fruit. He handed it to David to hold and examine for himself. “Tomatoes, vinegar, limes, and especially lemons, are all excellent ingredients for flavoring foods that can make them more or less sour, tangy, tart, and bright! Sometimes adding salt isn’t enough by itself, so you can add a little bit of acidity to give it a flavor boost. You could cut one of those in half and squeeze some of its juices out, over your ingredients. Plus, it can help a lot of different vegetables that are typically red to retain their color, and appear more enjoyable to eat, for a little longer when you cook them with acidic juices. And if you ever make the mistake of adding too much, as I have on occasion, you can always reduce the taste of the acid from the lemon in this case, by throwing in a little bit of sugar or, by adding some of the final ingredient, fat. That’ll reduce the strength of the acid and help to rebalance the taste of the meal. The same is true for salt. You can reduce its impact on food by adding the tiniest bit of acid.”

 

 

David stared at Charles in wonder while processing all of this, and considering his companion with a slight tilt to his head. Could his time alone in the palace have afforded him greater time to develop cooking skills? Did the house not provide these things for him without intervention on his part? He asked for clarification, “Thank you for the information, as I will certainly practice incorporating these ingredients into meals. But I now wonder how you’ve come to acquire such a wealth of insight into the details of food preparation and cooking. Does this facility, with its AI and sustenance systems, not manage these processes for you in large part?” Charles blushed slightly, and glanced away. “You’re welcome. And... yes, Jarvis and the palace do make most meals for me without my having to do anything. They do a wonderful job of it. But, I like cooking. It’s another form of fun for me, and I think Jarvis prefers it to my interests in some of the Cycle Centres options. And … I had a good reason to explore it when I found this towards the bottom of a drawer a few years ago,” he explained as he pressed on a small kitchen drawer and it slid open to reveal an array of cooking tools lying, neatly in a single row. Charles reached in and lifted one that was silver but slightly duller in color than the rest. It was small and clearly had several compartments for different little tools within it, including a miniature knife, scissors, and corkscrew. He turned it over and rubbed his thumb across an elegantly printed symbol embedded on the side, before carefully handing it to David who put aside the lemon in favor of handling tool. “X,” He read, looking first at symbol, then back to Charles who was now just looking at the tool. David slowly handed it back to him, and he took it to hold for a moment more, before putting it back in the kitchen drawer.

 

 

“X for Xavier,” he explained. “It belonged to one of my parents. I don’t have very many memories of them, but this was theirs just like... I was. Once. I found it here in this drawer, while I was exploring one day, and I thought that perhaps they didn’t always rely on the machines for their food. I hadn’t considered that before. So, I decided to practice and learn for myself. Now, I enjoy it. I think that, maybe, they did too.”

 

 

The kitchen was silent for a moment after that, as David absorbed this information and Charles stared down at the drawer, now closed, containing his parent’s kitchen tool within. David was contemplative as he studied his young friend. Eventually he was the one to break the silence with a question. He started slowly. “Charles, your expression is... new to me and slightly difficult to definitively pinpoint despite my frequent scans of the Net. Are you experiencing... sorrow?” Charles sighed and glanced up at David briefly before answering, “I... believe I am, just a little.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned one hip against the counter before continuing. “I don't have real connections with other people that are meaningful. But I do have an idea, a dream really I suppose, of the people who created me,” he finished, resting a palm over his chest. “I can  _ imagine  _ what things might have been like if they were still here, and I have a sense of loss that makes me feel just a bit less... complete. Sometimes. It usually only happens when I think about them, or about not being able to leave the palace. They’re the only people who likely ever really knew me, to my knowledge, anyway. I've always been here you see,” he explained and gestured widely to the space around them. “I interact with others via the Net from time to time, for everything from business transactions and purchases to games and forum conversations on an array of topics but I don't think it's quite the same.” He reached out with his hand, that had been resting upon his own chest, and lightly rested his fingertips against David’s synthetic one. “You see. You can feel me, and I can feel you. That makes a bit of a difference, for me at least.” He smiled, then let his hand fall back to his side.

 

 

David waited a moment to hesitantly pose a second query, this time with a bit more caution in his voice. “I think, I do understand. You have experienced  _ deprivation _ . And so, I hesitate to create additional stress for you but the subject of your parents is one which I believe is important. And I, even with my access to the palace AI and its many systems, have perceived a noticeable lack of data. There are orders in place to keep you safe but little detail regarding the originators of that information. Such evident information gaps, to me, suggest secrecy. Further, these methods suggest that your parents may have either discovered, built, or somehow retained possession of something which they strove to keep hidden from others in society. It is not clear what this might be, as there are many invaluable resources here. Perhaps, it is as simple as that they only sought to protect you from those who might attempt to steal some of their inventions that are protected within the palace but that are also clearly tied to your family and therefore you, specifically now.”

 

 

Charles frowned slightly and thought carefully about this for a moment. He was startled out of his thinking seconds later, when Jarvis suddenly added, “All properties of the Mechanical Palace, AI, and its systems are irrevocably bound to Master Charles Xavier. No other has or will gain command permissions to these properties, legally.” An expression of surprise flitted across Charles’ features, followed by concern, before he stated, “Jarvis? You've never... shared that before.” The AI responded with, “A previously unnecessary detail.” Before adding, “It is dangerous for Charles Xavier to venture beyond the Mechanical Palace. Please do re-, re-, re-, main,” he started before his voice stuttered and faded out entirely. Charles look to David, who nodded.

 

 

“I have interrupted and lowered the volume of the AI sound system. His points have clearly been made to you successively over the years, and they are not invalid. However, I understand that you require a level of freedom that has been denied to you. For far longer than appropriate. That does not mean that there should be no consideration of the reasons for that denial. I too, seek to understand this issue but I will not allow another intelligence to enforce ancient orders on your person or entrap you within any facility if that is not your wish, and I am able to assist you,” he finished with confidence. Charles studied David and his stance for a moment. Then, he took a long, slow breath in and slowly released it again. “I don't understand all the things that my parents wanted for me, the Mechanical Palace, or even for Jarvis. But I know what I want. I know that I want to see and understand more of the world outside of this place,” he said and gestured with wide open arms, in reference to the palace as a whole. “I want to breathe the air beyond the indoor greenhouse and really feel the sun on my skin, and look, touch, taste, experience, just  _ everything _ , more. More than what I can have with people through something like the Net.” And then he hesitated, looking at David directly and lowering his arms. “I'd really like it if you joined me and experienced some of those things too, if that's what you want as well,” he said somewhat hopefully. “I didn't build you to be like Jarvis. I wanted to gift you with consciousness and life in the hopes that we might learn from and perhaps find some companionship in one another but also with the knowledge that if you set another course for yourself separate from me, I would have to let you find your own purpose. So, what do you want David?” he asked quietly.

 

 

David stared intently at Charles but quickly responded, “I want that, as well. To learn, to explore, to understand you, and this place.” Charles smiled at the complete conviction of that statement. “And,” David added. “If you're ready now, I see no reason why we cannot begin.” Charles’ lighthearted smile lit up into a wide, ear to ear grin. “Yes, I am most certainly ready. More than ready!” David grinned in reply.

 

 

~~~

 

 

Less than an hour later the two had changed out of their casual day clothes into a set of lightweight and durable pants and short sleeved shirts. David had also donned a small black, backpack with the reasoning that he would carry any such supplies with far greater ease and efficiency. Charles huffed at this explanation but didn't disagree.

 

 

And so they found themselves walking towards the front door, dressed for adventure. As they approached it, David glanced over at Charles noting that his pace had slowed substantially by the time they reached the entryway. And, now he was clearly hesitating to reach forward and even touch the object in question. “I've never made it this far without incident before,” he explained as he finally reached up for the knob. David tilted his head at this but immediately become rigid a second later. Charles stiffened in reaction as well, when he heard a slight whooshing sound from behind. He turned to find that David was glaring at a small, thin, metal object held aloft between his forefingers. A dart. He was examining it with an intensity, which Charles had not seen from him before.

  
  


“It seems,” David began, studying the dart. “That this facility has a very specifically designed safety mechanism in place to prevent you from exiting it. I believe that this,” he lowered the dart to Charles’ eye level, “Is relatively harmless. Still, it likely would have slowed your progression beyond the exit point through some chemical means. I failed to detect it, as my focus was largely on the AI, which is curiously distinct from this additional system.” Charles’ eyes had widened increasingly, as he too examined the dart and listened to David’s explanation of its purpose. “I've never..,” he gulped, “Felt, or seen it before,” he acknowledged. David considered Charles before looking at the dart, once more. “It's quite small, and likely removed before you awaken, and are able to detect it or its purpose,” he explained before first snapping it in half, and then creating a fist with it in his hand. When he relaxed and opened it once more, there was little more than dust in his palm, which he then let fall to the floor between his fingers. “I understand that a cleaning system will take care of this. So, we may now continue unhindered from here if you wish.” Charles nodded wordlessly, and again reached for the door while David’s eyes roamed the room looking for further traps and resources designed to prevent their exit that he could potentially have missed. He was holding a number of systems in their place in order to ensure their successful exit, when at last the door was opened and they both stepped beyond its threshold for the first time.

 

 

~~~

  
  


Endless. That was the description that came immediately to Charles’ mind when he stepped out beyond the imposing doors of the Mechanical Palace and across its green lawn. The sky was a clear, blue, empty of more than a few wispy clouds, and seemed to stretch from one end of the world to the other without limit. He closed his eyes, and turned around in a complete circle once, while slowly breathing in a lungful of fresh, open air.

 

 

David too was noting their surroundings with great interest. He spotted a butterfly with bright yellow and deep brown patterns spanning its wings, and a touch a blue near the tail end, hovering above a nearby daffodil flower. Just as he had crouched down to see it up close and from a better angle, the small creature fluttered up and across the field to find its next food source and resting place. “Papilio glaucas,” he murmured. “Papa what?,” Charles said as he ran over to stand next to him. David pointed towards the quickly disappearing insect in the distance. “Papilio glaucas, also known as the tiger swallowtail butterfly. I saw my first,” he explained, lowering his arm. Charles smiled and looked off into the distance for a moment before grinning and looking back to David. “Let’s see if we can’t find a few more firsts!” Then, took off running. David’s eyes widened momentarily before he too grinned and joined in the race.

 

 

Unlike its inner rooms, the exterior of the Mechanical Palace was sharp, imposing, and all hard metal edges. It’s walls were silvery and tall, and its windows large but tinted to prevent the possibility of a view from the outside. The entire structure was designed with a sense of opulence, innovation, and harshness. By contrast, the lands surrounding it appeared perfectly normal for a palatial residence with stretches of rolling green lawns surrounded by forests full of old but sturdy trees and a few hedges surrounding a deep blue lake with a dormant fountain resting along the far side of the property. But more than anything else, it was indeed wide. And so, it took a good bit of running before Charles, finally winded, slowed and approached the line of trees at the edge of the property. David slowed to a stop as well, not breathing heavily at all of course and grinning down at his companion. “I could carry you, as well,” he offered with a perfectly innocent tone. Charles stared at him for a moment in disbelief before laughing and adding, “Hey! I’m perfectly capable of carrying myself thank you very much. Also, are you actually making fun of me? Since when is this a part of the curriculum?” he demanded but smiled to take all the bite out of the question. “I learn a great many things from the Net. The ability to appreciate and create humor with others through the art of ‘light trolling’ is seen as a positive trait in many. I will need to practice to improve over time, of course,” he said with a perfectly straight face that Charles didn’t buy for a second. “Uh huh,” he replied dryly before shaking his head, laughing lightly, and rubbing his hands on his pants to dry them a bit. “Well let’s introduce your new sense of humor to the world, shall we?” he said and began to walk towards the trees. David quickly caught up and positioned himself just subtly ahead of his friend, alert to any possible problems they might encounter. 

 

 

He supported Charles in his journey but wouldn’t forget the injuries borne from their risks in the Cycle Centre or the incident with the projectile at the palace entrance. Charles might be fragile and sheltered but David was powered by a QCP that effortlessly digested data at lightning speed. As lacking in knowledge as he had been upon first awakening, he was swimming in it now from his constant Net scans of the world. He also understood exactly how fragile he was not. In both body and mind, he was strong. And for Charles, his first and true friend, he would be ready for any possible problems.

 

 

The deeper they traversed into the copse of trees, the less of the sky and sunlight there was to navigate by, until the two were practically moving in shadows. David drew closer to Charles but the two continued on with quiet eagerness until the treeline ended abruptly and it seemed that the light was beginning to filter in once more. But it was odd. The trees had been so incredibly thick and close together before but the end of the forest was surprisingly immediate. What was more unusual to David’s eyes in particular was the rather sudden reintroduction of light to the area. The change from shadow to sunny day was less gradual than it should have been. It put him on edge but he refrained from expressing his concerns and settled for paying close attention to the environment as Charles walked up to stop at his side.

 

 

Charles stared at the view before him for a moment. It appeared to be nothing more than a normal town with hovercars zipping to a fro, multi-colored rows of businesses with artful signs on their storefronts, and tens of people everywhere milling about in different directions as they went about a perfectly normal day. His breath hitched as he took a few steps towards the town, and then stopped suddenly as he felt his next step bring his foot into contact with something situated just slightly ahead of him. David’s hand shot forward to the same distance as his foot suddenly. His face became regained its former intensity again, as he reached forward slowly to grasp Charles left arm and carefully pulled his frowning friend back a bit to position himself ahead again. Then, planting his feet more firmly, he raised both hands with palms facing out and pushed. Charles observed as the scene of the seemingly idyllic and buzzing town below began to glitch and contort. Like a virtual filter that was breaking down. Then with one sudden and final thrust forwards, the scene shattered entirely and all the perfect sunlight and bustling activity of the town ahead fizzled out with it.

 

 

Instead, their view was replaced with that of the real world. And, it was dark.


	10. Update!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update!

Hi Readers,  
I need to post a quick update here to let you know that I'm working to get the next chapter up for you all asap but life and the holiday weekend is complicating my schedule a wee bit >.< So, I'm adding the next chapter this Wednesday (I know, I'm really sorry it is late and will be better about that going-forwards) as I'll have a break at that time, and then I'll still be following up with my usual Sat/Sun publication immediately afterwards. This story is always on my mind and I will always add the next chapter or let you know if there will be a delay and when to expect new content because I know what that's like as reader, as well. Thanks again for sticking with Charles and David, and I! ~ Love Always HJP <3


	11. Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Charles and David tear down the idyllic veil of perfection cast over the world from the behind the borders of their home. They must then digest the harsh view of the reality beyond those borders, and test their trust in one another, as they begin the first leg of their journey. It is not without trials.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 17 Kudos! I'm dead. Thank you so much everyone, for sticking with this story. I am humbled by the number of views and the attention here, as a writer. It's more than I ever could have hoped for and I'll always appreciate it from this community. You guys are seriously beautiful to me. And I'm truly excited to see how you, along with our lovely protagonists, digest this new world and journey in chapter below. Just remember, that nothing is quite what it seems. Enjoy! ~ Love Always <3 HJP

**8\. Dark**

 

 

Charles stared wide eyed out at a vast landscape of desolation, trying to wrap his mind around the dichotomy between the beautiful, buzzing world he’d been presented with via the virtual filter and that of the bleak reality before him. Having never before left the confines of his palatial home and the care of Jarvis, it was more than a little unsettling to digest the scene all at once. He suddenly felt very small in this much wider world, and forced himself to blink hard once, just to reassure himself that what he was seeing was true. 

 

 

Beside him David was staring at everything with more curiosity than horror, taking the adjusted view in with eyes that scanned everything in sight in an attempt to understand what would be needed to navigate this new terrain that appeared much rougher and more chaotic. From where they stood the air was clear, there were few clouds in sight, and the world felt alive, fresh, and cared for significantly. Though the environment appeared to go through a rapid decaying process the further away the view extended from their position. In the distance beyond a film of red dust, hanging several miles from the surface of the ground, the outline of several tall skyscrapers were just barely visible. It was bleak but it was, marginally, more encouraging than what could easily have been mistaken for a barren, red dessertland. It was worthy of exploration.

 

 

So together they took a few steps forward to get a closer view of the scene beyond the more pleasant boundaries of the palace grounds. The grass they were standing firmly on faded after a few feet and transitioned from a lush, natural, and springy lawn to thinning rows of sickly, burnt, yellow grass that looked wet and wilted a few inches out, before all the plant matter settled into a deeper maroon color. The leaves from there on appeared almost bulbous and heavy, as though they were holding an excess of liquid. Fortunately, David noted, they only seemed to squish slightly under the weight of their shoes rather than exploding or spraying their juices out and onto their legs, as it appeared they might’ve at first glance. Charles shuddered slightly nonetheless at the squelching sound this created but kept up the pace and tried to focus on the journey rather than the path of muck being created beneath and behind him.

 

 

Silently they traveled through another few yards of this muddy material before reaching the edge of a steep cliff. David tensed slightly as Charles crouched down and leaned over the edge to peer below. There were various sized grey, yellow, and red boulders alongside several smaller, sharp rocks that sloped down the side and down into a darkness so complete that the bottom was indiscernible to human eyes. David though could see enough to know that it wasn’t a trip they would enjoy and reached out to gently grasp Charles’ elbow and pulled him away from the edge. Beyond this though, about a quarter mile off in the distance, they could both clearly make out the other side where more of the world awaited and a few buildings hovered near the edge of what was, even more clearly now, an abandoned city under a red haze.

 

 

With a slight frown pinching his brows together, Charles slowly noted, “We’ll have to cross this chasm to reach the other side, if we hope to learn anything more about this place. There’s so much that I’m struggling to put together now. Why the virtual filter? Why is the world so wrought with decay here? Maybe there are a few people that can explain what happened”. David nodded his agreement before shifting his backpack around to retrieve a narrow and rectangular, metal box. He carefully approached the cliff’s edge and set it down on the closest, large boulder before leaning in and stating, “Activate. Two commands. Grip. Horizontal extension.” The box emitted a buzzing sound as its surface transitioned from a metallic silver to glaring whilte. Then a pair of sharp, curving hooks shot out of back and embedded themselves deep into the boulder. A second later a small cavity opened on the opposite side of the box and rows upon rows of thin white metal planks shot straight forwards away from the box and the cliff’s edge until they reached the other side of the chasm, immediately connected with the edge and embedded themselves deeply into the ground there via another set of fast acting, ground hooks.

 

 

“I considered a number of possible navigational and emergency supplies for this journey. The Path Projector has proven valuable in this case,” David explained, as he stepped forwards and tested the stability of the newly made bridge with one foot, before turning to look back at Charles. He found his friend was smiling but this time the expression had an edge of concern, perhaps even fear, to it. “The Net?” Charles asked, to question how David had determined the need for the resource and its functionality. David nodded, then walked over to examine his friend more closely. “You are afraid?” he questioned slowly, watching the way Charles’ gaze never strayed for long from the simple, bridge. That pulled Charles focus and eyes away, to realign with David’s. He gulped slightly before trying to explain. “I’m not sure why exactly but… yes. None of this is quite what I expected, which is fine. I want to keep going. I will keep going. The bridge just looks… a bit daunting. If we fall… I don’t think there’s an especially forgiving polymer track to cushion the landing,” he finished with a breathy and less than convincing chuckle, before looking back to the bridge.

 

 

David’s expression shifted from confused, concern to one of open, understanding. “Charles,” he stated, then waited until the other’s eyes were firmly focused on his, before continuing. “You are safe. I am here.” With that simple declaration, the tension that had begun to permeate throughout Charles’ frame seemed to drain out him, allowing his shoulders to drop slightly down into a more natural position and the little furrow of worry between his eyebrows to smooth out, as his whole expression shifted to allow for a small but significant smile of gratitude. He nodded but David held gaze for a moment more to be certain of the acceptance before returning the motion and then stepping away to approach the narrow bridge.

 

 

He looked out across the metal planks consideringly. Originally his plan was to suggest that Charles go out ahead, so that he could observe his progress and intervene in the case of any missteps to ensure a safe crossing for them both. In light of Charles’ obvious trepidation regarding the contraption, he would need to come up with an alternative method for crossing. A fireman’s carry, in which he could drape Charles’ torso across his shoulders and pin his knees down a bit with one arm while his other remained free, would offer him the most mobility. But he estimated the odds of Charles accepting this uncomfortable method to be less than fifty percent. Instead he simply picked up the discarded black pack, zipped it closed, and repositioned it tightly over his back before waving the boy over to stand at his side. Then he turned to face him, lowered himself to one knee, and held out both arms. “I would like to carry you across,” he stated simply. Charles’ mouth dropped open, slightly, and he glanced back out over the bridge before his attention was pulled back to David. He swallowed thickly, nodded, then slowly walked over, settled himself comfortably down over David’s right knee, and wrapped both arms around his neck. Before he could change his mind, David wrapped one arm around as much of torso as possible, smoothly slid the other beneath his knees and stood to complete the lift. “Okay?” he questioned, staring down at Charles. Rather than answer, Charles gave a tight nod and fleeting smile before firming his resolve and settling his gaze on the goal, the city beyond the cliff’s edge. The reality beyond the Mechanical Palace.

 

 

David looked back out to the bridge, then with sure and steady footing he took the first few steps out over its surface. Their progress was smooth, even, and relatively quick until David paused at the halfway point, and suddenly glanced to the west. He tightened his grip slightly, then carefully kneeled, causing Charles to tighten his own grip. He closed his eyes, as a moment later a strong gust of wind lifted his hair and tugged at their clothes. He gasped, getting a lungful of dust before coughing it back out, turning his face into David’s collar, and closing his eyes against the unwelcome barrage. David in contrast waited patiently, returning an unblinkingly, hard and focused gaze back out over the remainder of the bridge, until the wind died down enough for him to slowly stand again. As soon as he was up, with cargo in arm, he resumed his confident pace across the planks with Charles’ face still firmly adhered to his collar. The entire trek, minus their momentary pause, took two minutes and twenty seconds. Though, it felt like a lifetime to Charles who was by the end was concertedly working to regulate his own breathing back into its normal, even pattern. So as David stepped off of the bridge and onto the firm ground beyond, rather than stopping to put Charles back on his own two feet, he continued on for several yards until they were a good distance away from the structure. 

 

 

Once they were several yards away, he tightened his arms marginally before once more, bending to one knee and while maintaining his right arm’s hold of Charles’ torso, he very slightly lowered his left arm and Charles’ legs until he was to feel the surface of the ground, firmly beneath his shoes. “It’s alright now,” he said but added nothing more, as he waited patiently for his companion to regain a sense of greater ease. Gradually the hold on his neck began to loosen, and Charles pulled his face away from David’s collar to focus on the ground. He released a shaky breath, then waited another moment before shifting his feet slightly, and moving to stand on his own. David followed suit, slowly releasing his hold, as well. Charles’ gaze remained on the ground though, despite his more relaxed stance. So after calculating the potential risks and benefits of the action for a moment, David reached out with two fingers, and gently turned Charles’ chin up and over so that he could meet his gaze. He smiled warmly, down at him, and once more stated, “It is alright now, Charles. I am here, and you are safe.” At this, Charles stared wide eyed for a moment, before a smile began to form, and he reached forward to hug David, tightly. David returned the embrace, then released when he noted the grip had begun to relax. Charles turned then, to appraise the next leg of their journey. The red city awaited.

 

 

He turned back when David spoke again. “Please, wait here for a moment while I retrieve and repackage the Path Projector. It is a valuable tool,” he explained. What he didn’t add, as Charles nodded his understanding, was that though there had been little evidence of intelligent life thus far, it was not an impossibility, and he wanted to prevent the chances of anything in this environment from using the device to cross the chasm and access their home base. This he kept to himself as he surveyed the area carefully for anything of concern, before feeling comfortable enough to turn and pace quickly back to their man-made bridge. He commanded it with, “Two commands,” followed by a quick, “Release grips. Retract extension”. Then as its surface transitioned from white and back to the base silver, he added a final, “Deactivate” to power the device down, before lifting it and turning to see that Charles was still patiently waiting for his return. He pushed the device back into his pack as he stood, and sealed it in place, before he made his way back over to him with the bag settled back in place once more. “Ready?” he asked. “I am now,” Charles answered, and together they pushed onwards, once more.


	12. The Red City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our protagnists discover a city of red with more character and darkness than they could ever have expected. At least they have each other to weather the journey down its streets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Updated for minor grammar issues and a smoother flow :D
> 
> Thank you to infinity and beyond for the lovely kudos / solid support from Princess0moo, flightinflame, SithChildofWinter, onewayticket_tohell, DarthCurly, Cherrycaibelblossom, ArtificialGalaxy, Naleestak, and WakaLakaAlchemist! And thank you so much, to everyone who takes a moment to leave a comment because it ignites a little more fire in my soul as a writer and is so very thoughtful. I truly appreciate it :)
> 
> Note: The next chapter is coming out between thiss Sat/Sun between 7/21-7/22! May the adventure continue! ~ Love always <3 HJP

**9\. The Red City**

  


 

Onwards they went, making their way across the battered landscape and slowly approached the edge of what once was a city for many. In its current state, it reminded Charles more of what he imagined when reading works of fiction about old towns in the great American Wild West on lazier afternoons in the palace library.

 

 

As they made their trek from the natural environment and into this world, hidden just beyond the fringes of the Mechanical Palace’s borders, both travelers noted that the unusual plant matter on the ground, rather than decreasing as one might’ve expected, where the terrain began to transition into that of man’s making with cement streets and paved sidewalks, instead seemed to only rise in density and size. The streets were wide here and along every inch of them, tens of thin, little, red weeds were thriving as they poked and pushed their way through any available crack in the asphalt and every possible break in the sidewalk. David digested this with marginal interest, as he attempted to classify what type of plants they might be based on the lack of matching forms of the matter to be seen on the Net. Charles was just relieved to note that the further in they went, the more the consistency of these plants matched that of traditional grass and weeds and therefore was less juicy and prone to making that awful squelching sound and sensation beneath his feet. Instead, they were presented with a world of relative silence broken only by the infrequent whistling of the wind.

 

 

The further they continued into this strange city, the more the layout of the structures around them appeared to change, as well. In the beginning they encountered a number of empty lots. These were large, square patches of land, mostly consisting of dirt and more of the red weeds. David paused for a moment here to crouch down and gently tug a single, willowy, red weed from the ground to Charles’ dismay. Nonetheless, he helped to reach into the pack on his companion’s back to acquire a small, metal tube to effectively collect and contain the sample for potential study later, before returning it to a zippered compartment in the bag and resealing it with a slight frown. He mentally noted that he’d be handling that with gloves in the future, when they returned to the palace. David just smiled and nodded in thanks, before they moved to continue on from the unusual lot and headed deeper into the city. As they went on there were fewer of these open, empty spaces and they began to see more complete structures come into view from their route in the center of the reddened road. The first set of these appeared relatively simple, and beyond minor changes in color, identical to one another. Charles stared at them, wondering if it might be worthwhile to approach one but decided to continue onwards to observe the heart of the area, first. Noting the direction of his gaze as they went and correctly identifying the reasoning behind it David pointed out that, “We will again return via this route and may explore these outer dwellings further then, as well. I too am curious.” Charles grinned at his companion. He was becoming much more adept at reading and appropriately responding to Charles’ expressions and emotional states since he’d first awakened not so long ago. He shook his head happily at this thought and David, before refocusing on the road ahead.

 

 

Eventually, both were drawn to observe the structures once more as they began to note the first signs of variety in their designs and something else helpful: colorful identifiers began to show up near each new unit. They were old signs plastered above building door frames, hanging from window sills, and standing out near the borders of the properties, all hinting at what purpose they once served. Cataloging them David read, Saul’s Gas Station, Select Inn & Suites, Rita’s Ristorante, and a Lovely Lads & Ladies sign, all clearly and uniquely personalized on wood, metal, frosted glass; with lettering done in standard print, lazily flowing neon symbols, even perfectly elegant cursive. All of them, literal signs of individualism. And though the two noted with fascination, that the buildings themselves continued to grow in number, this wonderful pattern eventually faded into one of uniformities. More simple and descriptive silver lettering began to indicate, Citizen’s Library, Health Clinic, Vitamin and Grocery Store, Citizen’s Theatre, and of course, School.

 

 

Charles paused so abruptly at this last that he nearly tripped over his own feet: School. His eyes held fiercely to the words for a moment before he turned to examine the building itself. He might have participated in group education settings in this place if he’d been allowed freedom from the palace in previous years. There may have been other children. Other connections. He felt a small sense of something creeping up over him that he hadn’t felt for a while since the journey had begun. Then it came to him with suddenness. Loss. Frowning at this uncomfortable thought, he turned away from the building at last, to find David now studying _him_ intently. He said nothing though, and instead demonstrated a new behavioral and emotional depth by simply extending his hand. Charles smiled, reached forwards to accept it, and exchanged a brief squeeze of comfort and acknowledgement with his companion before they unanimously released and continued on into the bowels of the red city. I am not alone anymore, Charles reminded himself with a little shake of his head and a smile. It didn’t erase the past but it made the journey a little easier in more ways than one.

 

 

Together they made their way on, passing at least six blocks and several dozen more such structures before they noticed that while the street was narrowing, these buildings were becoming increasingly larger and more complex in size as they progressed. In some cases seeming to double in height as though someone had decided to simply begin stacking them on top of one another. The sequence continued until the vertical reach of these structures were beyond comprehension for Charles. They seemed to shoot up from the humble ground and straight into the clouds. But even these incredible feats of human engineering were outdone by the organic world that had so completely conquered it all. Whole buildings, nothing short of skyscrapers, were transformed visions of the power of the natural world here. From base to rooftop they were engulfed in thick, deep red vines that appeared to have crawled and stretched across every square inch as though in an attempt to consume the things in bloody towers of organic tissue. If so, it was well into the digestion phase, Charles thought with awe as they passed. David too acknowledged that, “There may not be many humans in sight thus far but this city is certainly alive in one respect.” To this, Charles agreed.

 

 

It truly seemed to be a city, deserted and overrun by a rather unusual vein of nature. What became stranger than this first observation though, was the increasingly, unignorable smell of the place, the deeper they sank into it. What began as a light odor quickly became a pungent aroma of organic decay reminiscent of a large barn full of wet hay. And more concerningly to Charles, there was also the occasional whiff of smoke and embers drifting to their noses on the wind, now. Hopefully, being carried from a great distance, he thought privately as he adjusted his stride a bit so that he was slightly closer to David.

 

 

By this point they were deep into the city sandwiched on the street between vine wrapped buildings that literally towered over them on either side, and with less and less space apart from one another. The resulting alleys that they passed were so narrow that they appeared to be pitch black and near impossible to see into from their vantage point. The wind seemed to whistle even louder near these gaps between the buildings. It was nothing short of eerie. Shortly after noting this David’s focus on their surroundings increased tenfold when Charles gasped and urgently whispered, “Look!” He was staring up at a one of the slightly less digested looking stores just up ahead on the right. “I saw someone moving around and maybe even looking out from one of the windows in that building!” he exclaimed excitedly. David zeroed in on it, as well, but after waiting a minute nothing more happened and he began to relax marginally. “Perhaps it was the wind rustling a vine...?” David started to suggest but Charles was still staring fixedly at the same place he’d seen the motion occur. David stared back at the windows again, frowning. If someone were there, the probability of any interaction veering in a negative direction was higher than he would’ve liked to consider. “I will continue to monitor the building, as well. Though, we may find more signs of activity if we continue on,” he pointed out. Charles sighed at last, but added, “Yes, yes you’re right. I hope we do. I just want to understand. This world is a maze inside of a puzzle, and I’d like to reach the center to get some answers soon.” With that they pushed on but with a close eye on the windows of the buildings they passed along the way.

 

 

They hadn’t gone one block, before they paused again when they came upon what they at first thought might be a small creature resting in the gutter. As they approached though they realized that it was actually a toy, a doll. It was an old, plastic robot. Charles lifted it gingerly to look it over and upon discovering a small button on the back, pressed it. “I’m Rory Robot, how are you today?” the thing vocalized chirpily. David’s face fell into a one of mild disgust, while Charles’ lit up with wonder. “Hello, Rory. It’s very nice to meet you. And, I’m alright today, thank you for asking,” he answered indulgently. The robot responded, “That’s terrific! Would you like to play a game?” Charles smiled, then looked to David and chuckled at his uncomfortable expression before looking back and answering the doll’s question. “No, thank you Rory. I’m too busy now but perhaps, later.” David’s face relaxed marginally at that. “Alrighty, then! See ya later friend!” it chirped once more before going silent. “It lacks an AI, and is little more than a simply programmed machine,” David noted neutrally. “Perhaps a precursor to a more advanced android. I find it somewhat, disturbing nonetheless.” Charles studied his friend first, and then the doll before placing it back in the gutter, and continuing on. There was no reason to take the thing along. Although, he might be inclined to look up “Rory Robots” on the Net later on, he thought. The city, it seemed, was full of surprises, both welcome and not.

 

 

Shortly thereafter their journey was interrupted again when they came across another unusual scene. A number of abandoned vehicles were clustered around the entrance of one building. Everything from bikes and hoverboards to larger scale vehicles were parked haphazardly. Some of the windows in the building were broken in and the lone wood door was literally hanging off of its hinges. It was the first place they’d come to where the signs of human activity were so glaring and potentially recent. They decided to enter and explore it.

 

 

Upon approaching it they realized that it was a “City Center Health Clinic” by the sign in the window. And as they made their way passed the vehicles to reach the sidewalk, they came upon an old platinum toned android with a humanoid build waiting on the path near the entrance. It greeted them with, “Welcome and thank you for coming to the clinic today!” in a staticy voice as they passed. Another identical version of this being was waiting for them as they slipped in beneath the remains of the doorframe and entered the building. This one was more damaged, with a whole arm missing from the right side of its body. “Please, supply a list of symptoms to be saved to the database promptly or allow yourselves to be scanned so that you might be seen by one of our physicians, soon,” it spoke up in that same chipper tone with marginally less static than its copy. Charles stared incredulously. David simply added, “These are not sentient. These are machines programmed to respond to motion cues and little more. They can tell us nothing of value. Let us continue.” Charles noted David’s slightly bored look as he examined the bot, and nodded before moving along. Pushing further in brought them to a small anteroom.

 

 

Moving further into this first room they noted that it was wide, rectangular, and mostly white from its bland, metal walls to its simply tiled ceilings and floors. More interestingly, within the room were tens of white metal chairs, of which many were overturned and in disarray. “A waiting space,” Charles noted. “It does not seem that much waiting occurred here,” David observed. “Indeed,” Charles agreed. They moved through the room, being careful not to disturb the scene of chaos as they walked around various chairs until they reached the far side of the room to find an entrance leading down a white hallway with various doors along the path on either side. As they entered the space they noted that a light was flickering in one of the rooms at the end of the hall. They passed several doors, both closed and open, peeking into those they could as the went along. David noted, simple tables pushed against walls, chairs, and rows of wall cabinets in several rooms. Charles spied, spaces that were aesthetically cold and devoid of personality. It left him with a feeling of anxiety, and he hurried along passed these open rooms.

 

 

Upon reaching the door with the flickering light, they entered to find a single panel on the ceiling rapidly switching between an on and off state every few seconds as though it was slowly running out of juice but still struggling to shed some light on the disordered scene beneath it for any interested witnesses.

 

 

The walls of the room were filled with silver cabinets from top to bottom, each with dozens of small cabinets, most of which were hanging open and revealing hundreds of little clear, glass bottles with blue caps. There were even more of these on the floor, and several had evidently been smashed based on the amount of glass spread across the floor. The few that remained in tact appeared to be completely empty, their contents having been long since pilfered by the clinic’s welcome guests. Though there were a few with various liquids still contained inside, and a couple with multi-colored pills that had been left behind. Bending to see these up close, and looking at the bottles that remained in tact, David noted medicines for skin cancer, influenza strain A, meningitis C, remedies for sore joints, extra strength vitamin c, and more. “They treated everything from sore knees and the common flu to severe forms of cancer here, and it looks like all of it was in pretty high demand,” Charles stated slowly looking around while being careful not to step too heavily on the glass.

 

 

David was quiet for a moment, then stood and looked to Charles. “It appears that a large number of people were greatly motivated to, with little regard for order, collect any medicinal tools they could find in this space. And, judging by the number of vehicles we passed, the state of the front rooms, and this one collectively, they struggled to locate a solution for whatever disease or ailment they sought to treat.” He sighed slightly before looking to his friend, and finally adding, “There is a strong chance that this city was heavily impacted by an epidemic that took the lives of many of its inhabitants.”


	13. Update

Hi Readers!

I've been swamped with work for an important competition I'm preparing for outside of here, and have had to delay the next chapter for which I'm eternally sorry - everybody hates delays but sometimes they're really important, and I would never do so if it weren't because I love this story and the support for it! It will be out by the following weekend :) Just wanted to post this here so you all know what's up, and when to find new content. ~ <3 Love Always HJP


	14. Treasure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our leading characters make some interesting discoveries as they explore a brave new world. The plot thickens, as they encounter the first humans either have ever seen up close before but with wildly disparate perspectives on the experience. There are also, new and critical questions for our explorers to find fast answers to: How does an innocent mind grapple with the notion of violence?
> 
> "Class" is in session, and this lesson has a rather up-front and applied approach. ;) ~ <3 Always HJP

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again, so much for commenting, giving kudos to, and following along with this tale, everyone :D I can't wait to share the next chapter with all of you XD

**10\. Treasure**

 

 

“The visitors of this clinic were in a hurry to... self-medicate,” Charles noted, agreeing with David’s earlier assessment of the room covered in broken glass shards and a few remaining, empty glass medicine bottles. “It _does_ look like there was an emergency of some sort here. Maybe people panicked.” David stared, somewhat grimly, at the disorganized room and the many dangerous glass pieces glinting up at them from the floor before adding, “They may have done more than that. This scene appears to indicate near-violent activity.” Charles’ eyes widened. “You don’t think that they hurt each other, do you?” At that David turned to consider his companion. 

 

 

Charles was relatively young for a human, both in regards to his years and sheer variety of experiences. Neither of these things were any fault of his own, though. The consequences of his upbringing likely allowed for the flourishing of intelligence via a near perfect education provided by a state of the art A.I., in Jarvis, but it lacked the fullness of a life spent engaging with others of his, or any other, kind. The concept of violence was most likely completely foreign to him on many levels. To Charles, who from the moment of David’s awakening had dispensed nothing but kindness, displayed an inclination to be honest to a tee, and who desperately sought authentically, positive connections from the outside world simply to learn and share in brighter and enriching experiences beyond his home... the concept of true violence would be both unexpected and confusing. Illogical. However, David’s unique connection to the Net afforded him the ability to digest a great deal of information and achieve a more rapid maturation. With every moment he spent awake, scanning, learning, experiencing the world, and digesting volumes upon volumes of data from it, the more aware he was of its many wonders and dangers. And there were still clearly sectors of the Net that were less accessible even to him at this stage, as the factors relating to the state of this city were notably absent. However, he had witnessed _plenty_ of historical, online recordings of humans doing everything from aggressively arguing to abusively assaulting one another and much more. The fact that Charles had not concluded anything similar might have occured here, was somehow pleasing in its innocence. Though, it also elevated his awareness of the urgent need to keep watch over his friend in this unusual environment. 

 

 

And so he simply said, “I think that what may have once been an organized system for care for many, may have failed in some manner and led people to more chaotically seek... survival based approaches in order to address a medical problem that affected them in great numbers. People may at times behave differently when they are most heavily focused on survival. But do not worry, as we may find more evidence as we continue to explore and these conclusions may be premature.”

 

 

Charles studied him for a moment, noting David’s hesitance in explaining his conclusions with slight curiosity. He was again struck by how grateful he was to have David with him for this journey. He may never have been able to make it this far, in this way, on his own. The realization came to him, that he might have lived out many more years in ignorance, unaware of the real world beyond his home, if not for his new companion. He considered his words about the state of the room and the people that had been here before. He thought about the concept of violence, and what people might have to do to survive, and he worried. He needed to know more. They both did.

 

With that thought resting heavily on both of their minds, David led the way out of the room and back down the cold hallway. Upon reaching the end, he paused to stare again at the robots near the entrance for a brief moment. They looked to him in that moment, eerily like relatives, and yet not in many ways. Before Charles could ask him anything about, though, his interest seemed to break and he started to lead the way out again.

 

 

Just as they were preparing to exit the building entirely though, Charles felt a bit of uneven ground beneath his left foot as he was approaching the front door. His path had brought him to a loose floorboard. He paused, stepped on it again, then leaned down to run his palms along the edges of the small tile that was just slightly off from the ones around it. As though someone had hurried to shove it back into place and hadn’t gotten everything lined up so perfectly before leaving it and the building behind. David turned to observe this with some curiosity. Charles dusted some of the reddened dirt off of the tile, lined his fingers up with its edges, and tried to lift. It came straight up and away. Underneath, there was a very small, very obviously dug-out dirt hole, in which there sat a thin, pale green, hardback book. He carefully picked it up, examined it, and found that the cover suggested that it was a work of fiction called, _Grimm’s Fairy Tales_. Fascinated, he flipped quickly through the old pages and smiled upon finding that the text was not only relatively intact but that there were also several pictures within its pages. Holding onto this precious new treasure, he stood and beamed at David. David smiled back, and helped him to position the book within his pack with the rest of their belongings and discoveries. It seemed that something good had come from their journey already. And Charles was, naturally, the first to find it. From there they continued on without interruption, leaving the clinic, its dark rooms, and many remaining secrets behind them.

 

 

The two were just beginning to make their way down the street again, when they noticed a flurry of activity and the sound of something almost like metal scraping against brick originating from the alleyway just across the street from the clinic where they’d just come out. Quickly assessing their surroundings, David moved to position them under the cover of darkness in the opposing alley on their side of the street. Noting all of this as well, Charles felt his body thrum with both excitement and nervous tension. David, forced his body to remain loose in contrast, in order to allow for quick, fluid reactions, should they prove necessary, while focusing his attention on the area where he’d detected movement in the first place to see what might happen there next.

 

 

After a moment, a figure slowly emerged. It was an older gentleman, hunched over and clothed in what appeared to mostly be mismatched, grey rags. He looked left and right, waited a moment, then cautiously appeared to almost slink out of the alleyway and onto the nearby sidewalk. He waited a moment, then darted forward a few paces until he reached the next gap between the buildings and ducked back into the alley between them, waited again then darted back out and repeated the process. He did this several times, making his way down the blocks, darting and slinking between the sidewalks and the alleyways as he went, and clearly aiming to spend as little time out near the open road as possible. To both Charles and David he seemed more strange and highly noticeable than covert. After a moment, when the old man had made it some distance ahead, David looked to Charles who nodded with the same thought in his mind: follow the oddly, interesting human. They did so, waiting until he was in an alley, to push forward, then ducking back into one when he came out to inspect his surroundings but remaining a good distance behind. Eventually the man reached what appeared to be a large supply store on one of blocks up ahead. A food store they noted from where they watched at the head of an alley a block down the street. As they observed, the man fiddled around with the front doors for a short second, then disappeared inside.

 

 

“We should try to talk to him, and see if there’s anything he can tell us about what happened here. And maybe, help each other. He looks like he might need at least a little help, too,” Charles enthused, as soon as the man was out of sight. The prospect of engaging someone new and interesting was too tempting to resist. But before he could rush headlong towards the man in the store, more than a single step, David’s hand clapped down heavily on his shoulder and he paused to turn and catch his friend staring intently at the store entrance with a different set of feelings from those he was experiencing, stretched plainly across his face. Namely, deep concern. “What is it?” he asked curiously. David answered carefully, as he continued to stare at the doors. “We don’t know anything about him yet or why he is attempting to avoid being detected by something or someone. We should approach with caution. This world and its people are unknown to us right now. We must exercise great care, for a little while.” He then let his hand fall away and nodded for Charles to continue. With a more tempered smile but no less eagerness, Charles nodded quickly, rushing to move forwards while saying, “Yes! Of course, we’ll be careful. But we must hurry if we want to keep up with him. He’s the only person we’ve seen so far but he may know where there are more or provide some other valuable information. There’s so much to be gained from this interaction!” And with that point expressed, he walked straight up to the store’s glass frosted front doors with David close behind. 

 

 

He wasted no time reaching forwards to push at them only to find that they didn’t budge, and then noted that they were instead designed to slide apart from one another horizontally. He positioned his fingers along the seam between them and pushed as hard as he could, attempting to create a gap for them to fit between and enter. A pair of hands reach around him to assist, and seconds later the doors slowly slid open and Charles slipped inside with David coming in right behind and carefully closing the stagnant doors behind them to leave no sign of tampering. David turned and was slightly alarmed to find Charles had nearly disappeared all the way around an aisle several yards away in his eagerness to find and catch up with the stranger they’d just been tracking. He took several long strides forwards and caught up with him, quickly. 

 

 

The aisle, labelled “E3” by a digital sign hanging from the ceiling above it, was narrow with tall white shelves on either side, most of which were empty. There were only two items, in fact. Charles reached for one located on the bottom of the left shelf and David for the one on the top right. “Heart Healthy,” Charles read aloud and shook a rectangular box which produced a slight crunching sound, like paper brushing up against firm plastic. “Gerta’s Greens,” David read the inscription on his, a small green can which sounded as though it had fish swimming around in it when he jostled it a bit. “Mine sounds healthier,” Charles noted looking between the two items they each held aloft. “Agreed,” David said. “We can only carry so much so I suggest looking more into your find,” he said and put his item back on the upper shelf, while Charles moved over to quickly shove the box into the pack on his back and reseal it before they moved on to continue searching for their missing man. They moved as quietly as possible to the end, then made their way along the edges of several more until they reached the last aisle. “Where..?” Charles began, when suddenly there was a loud crash, and they both turned toward the entryway to see the old man. And, he’d gained company. Two men towered intimidatingly over him, where he now lay sprawled across the tile floor on his back. He was looking up at his new guests with a gleam of pure terror in his eyes and along every rigid line of his body, that David could discern even from his place a good distance away.

 

 

For David, all thoughts of a cautious and potentially peaceful conversation were paused in that instant. It seemed quite clear, they would have violence.


	15. Update

Hi Readers,

I'm updating really quickly today to announce that I'm unfortunately very sick right now :/ I've had a fever of over 100 degrees for the past two days and am focusing on managing that for a little bit. I already have the next chapter ready to edit and roll out as soon as I have the strength to get back to it but didn't want to leave you all hanging without any explanation so I'm posting this for today. I'm sorry for the delay nonetheless >.< the story will continue soon, hopefully by this weekend! ~ Love Always HJP <3


	16. Engage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things heat up for our young explorers as they transition from a game of seeking to one of hiding. But all games have their endings.
> 
> Prepare to "Engage".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for being such a lovely and understanding audience. I'm posting this chapter early as a gift to you and because I'm eager to make some progress in the story of Charles and David! ~ Love Always HJP <3

**11\. Engage**

  
  


 

“Stand and identify yourself citizen,” a pair of mechanical, baritone voices commanded in synchronicity. The old man put his hands in the air up by his ears. Then with more awkward fumbling than grace, proceeded to slowly roll from his back to his left side in order to pull his legs underneath him, shift his weight onto a pair of knobby knees, and with a final grunt, push himself up onto his feet. As he stood a bag he’d hidden beneath his varied rags, slipped out of some inner pocket and hit the tile floor with a slight plop making him wince slightly. Still, he made no move to pick it up and waited with hands raised and focused his attention on the two men before him. Unlike the ill-kempt elder, these newest arrivals on the scene were far from homely or helpless in appearance. They were adorned in smooth, shining, black helmets with silver facemasks. And, their bodies from top to bottom were fully encased in matching black uniforms complete with a seamless jacket, pants, and boots of the same shade, that all looked to be made of a leather-like material appearing both lightweight and airtight. The more concerning accessories in this presentation however, were the three foot long, crimson red, weapons comfortably, strapped to each of their right hips. Their presence created an atmosphere of sudden authority, order, and fear.

 

 

David having an uncomfortable understanding of where this was leading, looked to find Charles with his attention similarly locked on the scene near the store’s entrance. They needed to find an alternate exit point, quickly. There was nothing of value to be gained from that interaction. Acting quickly now, he turned and scanned the area before giving a light tug on Charles’ shirt sleeve to get his attention and encourage him to follow along. They moved back and away from the scene, pausing only momentarily when the sound of gunfire resounded through the store, then moving forward once more. They reached a large deep blue door near the rear of the building. It seemed to be locked but David was able to apply enough force to push it open so that they could both slip through. Once the were out, he was careful to let the door close slowly but there was still a loud metal click when it settled back into place. Charles winced and they both waited to see if there would be the sound of pursuers soon after. Charles released a sigh of relief when none were forthcoming and moved to inspect where they’d ended up. It was a small stairwell with steps that seemed to go on forever upwards for several floors. He frowned at this. It was definitely a downgrade from the home elevator but it was a far cry from facing the soldiers in the store. With that in mind he started forwards, making his way up the stairs. 

 

 

David waited a moment longer listening at the door with an ear pressed close to its surface. He could just make out the repetitive sound of shuffling, followed by moments of total silence, before the shuffling picked up again. And it was getting closer with every few seconds. They were being followed. He closed his eyes, frowned, opened them and stepped back to examine the door for a way to seal it more completely. He looked to see that Charles had, as he’d heard, already made it up an entire flight of stairs and was moving on upwards. Then looking to the first step on the ground before him, he reached down and ripped it free from its metal attachments. Charles paused to look down and watch as David used the long plank like step to jam the hip height push-bar that opened the door from their side in order to jam it up. Understanding hit him then that they hadn’t completely escaped just yet and he sped up his pace on the stairs, continuing upwards. Seconds later he was startled by the sound of the door below them being banged on from the other side. He glanced down and was reassured to see David had already made his way onto the steps and was not far behind him now. The feeling was short lived though, as seconds later the door began to glow a bright orange before it exploded open in a shower of sparks and clanging metal that echoed throughout the entire stairwell. He tensed his muscles and raced up the steps faster than ever and felt he was making good time with the lead they had on their pursuers but worried about what they’d do once they finally reached the top. He had no idea where these steps even ended. A command center? A trash chute? The roof? And worse, now he could hear that someone was actually catching up with him at an astounding pace. His breath caught in his throat when he felt a pair of solid arms like metal bands pull him back and up into what felt like a brick wall before he realized that it was David. He’d raced ahead to catch up with him and was now carrying him hoisted along his side as he continued to race up the stairs at breakneck speed, keeping them well ahead of the soldiers below. Charles worked hard to keep his dangling legs out of the way and held fast to David’s torso as much as he could from his position. Everything was a blur of blue stairs and clanging footsteps, as they ascended with David’s increasingly greater strides.

 

 

Inevitably the race had to come to an end, and after what felt like an endless, spiraling trek up into the very heavens, David slowed for a fraction of a second to set Charles down on his feet, in order to assess the next obstacle. Another door, this one a fire engine red color with another large metal bar across its front at hip height. Together, they pushed but the barrier didn't budge. “It’s locked,” Charles noted with concern and turned to David just as a small, fiery projectile flew up from beneath their feet and zoomed past his face, missing both of the companions by a hairsbreadth. At this interruption, David immediately pushed Charles, back first, flat  against the nearest wall, then turned back to the red door, squared both feet, pulled his hands back into his body before allowing them to explode outwards. The door practically flew away from its hinges. Without giving either of them any time to contemplate this feat, David turned to find Charles' wide eyes. He reached for his friend just as another bullet flew up towards them and barely managed to grab an arm and pull him out the door as a series of short bursts sprayed the area where they’d been standing previously.

 

 

They exited quickly, then glanced right and left to take in their surroundings. As Charles had suspected and feared, they’d ended up on the building’s rooftop. He released a shaky breath, ran a hand through his hair, and pinched his eyes closed in thought. There were no more doors or rooms to escape into from here. The only exit was the one they’d just come through. Thunderous red clouds roared at them from overhead, warning them that staying here was also not a long term option. “W-we can try to talk to them,” Charles yelled to David over the booming sounds from the skies. David turned to look into Charles’ eyes and shook his head slowly in a gesture of disagreement. “We can at least try,” Charles pleaded. David stared back with a face that was resolute but still he replied, “We may try, though by estimations they will not listen for long and instead seek our submission." He paused and added, "Know now that what happens next is not any fault of yours my friend. We will try the talking first.” He said this but still moved to position himself just slightly ahead and partially in front of Charles. Then, they waited, listening to the sounds of heavy feet pounding their way up the stairs. 

 

The sounds became closer and closer until they eventually reached the doorway and the men were in front of them, weapons drawn and targeted directly on them. David once again, forced his body to remain relaxed and slowly raised his hands. Charles echoed the action and began to speak as the soldiers spread apart from one another and slowly approached. “Peace, please. We mean you no harm or offense. We ran only because we were frightened upon noticing you in the store and seeing your weapons, which are unfamiliar to us. We’ve been exploring this area looking for other people like yourselves, though and more than anything would just like to communicate with you, to make good connections. We don’t have any violent intentions, just… learning, peace.” He paused when the soldiers paused in their circling movements.

 

“What district are you from citizen? Identify yourself,” a deep voice commanded. Charles sighed, feeling more hopeful by the fact that the soldier was responding to his points in part. He could do no less himself and offered a simple, “My name is Charles, and this is my companion David. I’m not sure what district we’re situated in but -,” he began before David cut him off with, “We came from one of the dwellings on the far northern edge of the city. We’ve been living there for several months but have been separated from news and resources for too long and decided to come in to see if there was anything to be gained from a brief visit in the city.” Charles held his face still to avoid giving away the fact that he knew that was a blatant lie. They’d certainly not come from the northern edge of the city. In fact, they’d traveled in from the south for quite a while before reaching the edges of this decayed metropolis. But he could quickly estimate David’s reasoning for wanting to keep the exact location of their home away from these men. He looked to David and nodded subtly, silently agreeing with the decision.

 

 

The soldiers stared them down for a moment before one slowly lowered his weapon. The other maintained his position, with a projectile firing barrel trained on David’s center. The more relaxed looking one, clipped his gun to his side, crossed his arms and slowly approached them. He reached into his pocket for a small square device that he used to wave a red light over first David, and then after staring down at the results for a moment through his visor, he tried it again on Charles only to stare again at the results. Charles wished they could see his expression, so he could at least know if the man was leaning more towards bored or angry. 

 

 

“You’re not in the system. Anywhere,” he said slowly. “Do you know why that might be?” he asked as he put the little device back in its place, and looked from David to Charles. The latter spoke up, “I’m sorry but we’ve never been scanned by something like that before. And, I’m afraid that I’m unfamiliar with the system you’re referring to. We’ve been on our own for a long time, and this is very new to us,” he explained. The soldier stared at Charles for so long he felt the hairs on the back of arms and neck begin to rise in response to what felt like a primal challenge, one for which he was not prepared. “We are willing to continue communicating with you in order to help you find the answers you need from us,” David added drawing the attention back to him and away from Charles. The soldier looked back to his partner before settling his arms on his hips, near the weapon, David noted.

 

 

“Willing, you say, and yet you ran at first.” David gave no response to this. “What are you carrying?” he demanded, then. “Weapons?” Moving very slowly, David shrugged the pack off of his shoulders and let it fall to the ground. “Take five steps back, both of you,” the soldier ordered and waited for them to comply before moving forward to nudge the bag with his foot and then crouching to examine it further. He pulled out his scanning device once more and ran it over the bag once then glanced up at them, before reaching into the bag and pulling out the slender hardback book they’d found back at the clinic earlier that day. He stared at them with the novel held aloft between his forefingers, then rose back to his full height. “You are in violation of district protocol. Illegal possession of manuscripts is a high offense… explain this immediately.”

 

 

Charles’ jaw dropped open in confusion. Books? Books were illegal possessions, here? “We had no idea that we were committing any sort of crime. We’ve only just arrived here and we don’t understand all of the rules for your... district just yet,” he tried to explain. Thunder rumbled ominously in the background as he waited for a verdict from this man who seemed to be all hard edges. “All books are to be destroyed immediately,” he said before tossing the thing to the ground behind him. His partner immediately focused his weapon on the pages as they landed, pulled a switch on his gun, and pulled something that made a loud clicking sound before the gun seemed to breathe out a wave of white flames that upon reaching the ground immediately began to incinerate the book. Nothing but a smoldering pile of ashes remained when it was over seconds later. The click sounded again, and the soldier repositioned the barrel back on Charles whose face had been drained entirely of color, and David who was now frowning intensely at the man.

 

 

“We will take one of you in for these crimes,” the first soldier noted casually, then gestured to his companion who raised his gun a little more and focused on David, who immediately ducked to dodge the blast that zoomed over his head a moment later. 

 

 

“David!” Charles shouted but then he was busy with his own attacker, who had run forwards and tackled him to the ground before he had time to think about anything more. They rolled around on the ground for about two seconds before Charles was quickly flipped and positioned on his front with a knee in his spine and both arms twisted up behind his back in an iron grip. He gasped and stopped struggling briefly when his hair was suddenly yanked for all its worth, before he was hauled backwards and to his feet by his scalp.

 

 

On the other side of the roof, David was busy dodging blasts from the other determined assailant who was readily releasing shot after shot at his target. But David is quick and light on his feet, as he dodged first left, then rolled rapidly to the right, before diving forward, and rolling again. The soldier grunted in frustration, and began to switch his weapon setting to the wide spread flame option but was jared from his actions and position when a black bag suddenly clipped the side of his visor. David had reached the bag and used it to throw off his opponent who was now a second behind in his response time. That’s all he needed, though. David sprang forward, reeled his arm back and slammed a solid punch into the invisible soldier’s visor, caving it in completely and bringing back an arm that was covered in a purple liquid. He wasted no further time, grimly understanding that this obstacle had been defeated, and turned immediately to determine where Charles was located. He found his young friend, struggling with the other soldier who was quickly dragging him back towards the doorway to the stairwell.

 

 

Charles felt as he was suddenly thrown to the ground by his own soldier and looked up to see the reason only to find that the man was now more concerned with the sight of David racing towards him. He ran to meet David, confident in his training and ability to take him down equally as well as he had his friend before. David stopped just before he reached him and waited with his fists out, ready to connect. But then when the soldier was within grabbing distance and rearing forwards to strike him, he quickly sidestepped in a motion so fast it appeared as a blur to both Charles and the soldier. The soldier had just enough time to connect with a pair of angry eyes, before David pivoted to place a single hand on the back of his neck, then felt as he was thrust sharply down so far that his view of the fight was completely obstructed, before his face and body were propelled forcefully into the unforgiving dust covered rooftop. He did not get up, again.


	17. Update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update

Hi readers!

I just wanted to let you all know that the next chapter is coming out asap! :-) ~ Love Always HJP <3


	18. Stillness and Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the skies turn sour, David and Charles must choose between fight and flight. How prepared are they to reach their goals?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys make my days so much more meaningful, so I truly hope that you enjoy this next chapter my lovely readers.  
> And special thanks to KiraYata, Smirnov, terrae, Daelia24, Princess0moo, flightinflame, SithChildofWinter, onewayticket_tohell, DarthCurly, Cherrycaibelblossom, ArtificialGalaxy, Naleestak, WakaLakaAlchemist, and all of the beautiful, souls who took a moment to give a quick kudos to my work! :D ~ <3 Love Always HJP

**12\. Stillness & Storm**

  


 

David waited a moment to see if the man would budge. When he didn’t he relaxed his stance and turned to find Charles still lying prone on the ground a few feet away from him near the stairs. He appeared to be frozen, lying there with his wide unblinking gaze settled on the form of the soldier he’d outmaneuvered and dropped on the rooftop behind him. “Charles,” he called gently and to no avail as he continued to lay there staring at the body. He sighed and approached him slowly, then crouched down in front of him, bringing his face close to force some measure of eye contact. He waited patiently for a moment, then reached forwards and placed a fingertip to the side of his temple, then his neck. Despite his apparent stillness, his pulse was racing. Maintaining contact, he tried again, “Charles… I’m sorry you had to see that. I know that you wanted to talk to them. But I need you to focus on my voice now, and look at me.” After a moment, Charles blinked slowly, and when his eyes reopened they were focused on David’s. “Yes, that’s good. I’m going to help you stand up now, okay?” he asked as much as stated before reaching under Charles elbows, helping to hoist him up to his feet, but not releasing him upon reaching that point. He held on and maintained the eye contact he’d established, looking down at his friend while trying to exude an expression and overall presence of calm, of the peace they’d both striven to create with the soldiers before the chaos erupted. 

 

 

As he waited, the skies grew impatient and the first droplets of rainwater began to sprinkle down upon their shoulders. Charles shuddered as the cold droplets soaked into his hair and clothing. It was cold but as the water began to drip down his forehead and across his cheeks, his muscles began to relax further and he found he could focus his thoughts beyond the scene he’d just witnessed and finally see the man in front of him, again. David. His friend. His strong, capable, and … now that he was really looking, very concerned friend. He didn’t think he could verbalize that he was alright just yet. Not only because he wasn’t sure it was entirely true but also because he seemed to be struggling to speak at the moment. Instead, he reached out, clutched David’s shoulder and squeezed gently in an effort to reassure him that he was at least with him again. David didn’t give him his usual smile this time but allowed some of the tension lines around his eyes to relax as he began to see signs of his friend returning to him in mind. Still he held onto both elbows, happy to share in a brief moment of peace. That is until, Charles shuddered again, as what had once been a light sprinkle was quickly becoming a virtual downpour and the rooftop began to turn into a shallow pool. That’s when they noticed that the liquid raining down upon them was more than simple water. It had the same deep red color to it that was present in the many plants, the mud, dirt, dust, and every exposed element they’d seen in the city so far. Now that the carnage of a recent battle surrounded them, it was impossible not to visually associate it with blood, as well. David, noting the line of Charles’ gaze shifting to take this all in with some measure of disgust, and finding the pooling waters somewhat concerning himself as well recognized the end of their brief moment. “We should find shelter until the storm passes,” he said and looked to the stairwell’s empty doorway. Charles didn’t reply verbally but nodded firmly. David slowly released both elbows, allowing him to test his own footing, watching to see him take first one then several more steps unaided and surefooted. He observed this and found that he felt something akin to pride in Charles, as well as in himself. He’d been able to keep his word by protecting his friend from the worst of their first negative interaction with other humans. And Charles, despite his lack of experience in all of this, had demonstrated the ability to make the soldiers truly listen to him even if it had only been for as long as it had taken them to discover the small book they’d brought along with them in the pack. With more information, they’d likely have greater success in the future. For now though, he was happy to find them both on the other side of a battle, alive and relatively unwounded. These were his thoughts as they made their way through the remains of the doorway he’d forced open earlier and paused to assess the length of the journey to the bottom. 

 

 

They’d started forwards with Charles in the lead once more, gripping the railing to begin the long descent, when David noted a faint and flickering light passing across the wall and ceiling on their left before it moved to the right, just in front of them, to touch upon the opposite wall. It looked like someone was trying to paint the area with sweeping brushstrokes of light. Like a flashlight, he noted with discontent. Both companions remained completely still for a moment as the light swept by them, then slowly began to backtrack up the few stairs they’d just come down. When they were back on the landing at the top, they flattened themselves against the wall, waited for another sweeping light to pass by then darted out through the doorway and into the rain, again. Charles immediately leaned back against the wall by the door, shivered, and then slowly bent at the waist to lean down on his knees weakly as the rain slowly soaked him through. David closed his eyes for a moment. He needed to get Charles out of the rain. He also needed to avoid another needlessly, dangerous fight with an unknown quantity of weaponized soldiers. And, he needed to make a decision quickly in order to guarantee that their efforts and the purpose behind the escape of the Mechanical Palace, to learn about and connect with other people, was still possible. He considered this with determination and concern, as he could just make out the sound of metal clanging from booted feet slowly coming up the staircase behind them.

 

 

He opened his eyes and stared hard at his surroundings. He catalogued everything: Charles, the bodies of the two soldiers, the caved in remains of the red door, the rain, their backpack soaking away in a large puddle, the remains of the man-made pathway leading back to the staircase… man-made. The dots connected like lightning, and he knew then what their alternative exit point would have to be from here. He looked at the caved in door, glanced down at his unblemished arms, and concentrated on his skin, demanding his body to understand what he was about to do next and willing it to operate as he commanded. As he watched the skin there seemed to almost vibrate in anticipation before settling. He nodded slowly in satisfaction, then threw a glance up at the bowled in door lying on the ground before making a pair of fists and confidently striding forwards to collect the sopping backpack. He squeezed a bit to let some of the water drain out, then threw it onto his back and tightened it as much as he could before striding quickly back over to Charles. He crouched down in front of his friend so suddenly that Charles nearly startled and was surprised to find David was actually grinning up at him. He’d been about to attempt to use his voice again to suggest that they might be able to try to give themselves over to the soldiers and hope that they’d they take them both quietly, when he found himself suddenly staring into that familiar, and oddly comforting, shark-like grin. He frowned at David in confusion, and allowed him to be pushed slowly into an upright, standing position. Once he was up, David extended a hand and then with a determined, air turned and led them past the two bodies, around the broken door, and through the pooling rainwater, until the reached the far end of the roof. The edge.

 

 

David turned to him then, and placed both hands on his shoulders. He’d long since learned that Charles was comforted by touch, and he needed him to remain as relaxed as possible for this explanation. “Charles. Do you recall the way that I was able to carry you across our bridge in order to reach the edge of the city?” Charles looked out at the sharp lip of the building. They were several stories from the ground at this point. He swallowed thickly, then turned back to David and nodded. “What I said then is now true, still.” He waited a beat then added, “I am here, and you are safe.” Charles felt his emotional walls start to crumble at that, and reached forward to hug David tightly. He did so in part because he wanted to, to share in a comforting gesture with his friend, and also to hide the tears that he’d felt threatening to start flowing and desperately wanted to hold back. David returned the embrace for a moment but when he heard the sounds of the men coming closer, indicating that they were at least halfway up the staircase already, he released him and turned to present Charles with the pack. With an unsteady breath, Charles unsealed a compartment to retrieve the metal box that housed the Path Projector. Breathing deeply, he quickly removed the instrument from its container before stuffing the empty box back in the pack and sealing it up again. David turned, and smiled as he accepted the equipment from Charles. Then he turned, crouched and reached down over the edge to press the device up against the side of the building below them. 

 

 

He leaned in then and, as he had only once before, commanded, “Activate. Two commands. Grip. _Vertical_ extension.” The Projector seemed to buzz excitedly back at him, as it slowly transitioned from a silvery color to a pitch black, before a familiar pair of hooks shot out and penetrated straight through the side of the building. A moment later, a narrow slit opened on the bottom of the Projector and rows of thin black, metal planks fell for what seemed like miles from the device. They couldn’t clearly see the bottom with all the rain but David heard a distinct crunching sound and knew that the bottom plank had similarly adhered itself to the side of the building below, as well as the one on their end at the top, had moments before. He checked to assure himself that the makeshift ladder would hold, then wasting no further time, proceeded to turn and descend down the first few steps until his body was well below the rim and only his face remained visible from the buildings’ side. He looked up at Charles and beckoned him forwards with a nod, then. White faced Charles looked down at his shoes, blinked hard once, then turned and gripping tightly to the top of the ladder, proceeded to plant his feet on the first rung and slowly stepped down to another, one foot at a time. David remained in position at the top of the ladder, so that as Charles made his way down, his body effectively caged in the other’s. He watched to ensure that Charles’ footing was sure and steady, encouraging him every so often by pointing out how far a foot was from the next step, all while keeping a close and focused eye on the doorway in the distance. After a moment or two of this, they both began to move in tandem, making their way down the ladder. With slow and steady progress, Charles hugged the rungs and moved one step at a time, focusing on breathing through the experience as he progressed. David too maintained his position just behind him as slowly moved down the ladder, giving him just enough room to maneuver by extending his arms to hold his body out a bit further from the wall, and continuing to serve as a living shield of both sheltering comfort and careful cover.

 

 

Moving in this way, they made their way nearly halfway down the side of the building before David suddenly pulled his arms in and flattened himself as much as he could over Charles, who nearly lost his grip with the sudden change in movement. Shouts rang through the air overhead. The soldiers had arrived and had evidently discovered their escape route. David glanced up to see that several of them were overhead now, and one was clearly pointing directly down and gesturing aggressively in their general direction. This did not bode well. He gritted his teeth, and as calmly as possible began to put the next phase of his plan into action. Leaning close to a nearby ear he spoke, “Charles, I need you to slowly turn around and wrap yourself around my torso. I’m going to do the rest of the climbing from here on. All you have to do is hold on to me and rest for a moment.” He was pleased when Charles stiffly and with only slightly shaking limbs began to comply, releasing one wet bar at a time in order to awkwardly place his arms up over David’s shoulders. He did this so that could hold on properly as he carefully turned the lower half of his body all the way around, then carefully released his footing on the ladder to lift one leg at a time up and around David’s waist, twisting and locking his ankles together to cement the new hold. He felt a bit like a lemur, clinging to David in this way but was somewhat relieved to be able to release his death grip on the rain slick rungs of the ladder. He was jostled forwards a bit, as David used his arm to momentarily pull him gently but firmly in so that they took up less space, were flat against one another, and closer to the side of the building. David’s arms were now the only things holding them in place above the ground, several yards or miles he genuinely didn’t want to consider, below.

 

 

David waited as long as he could for Charles to acclimate himself to the new position, holding them both steady, steeling himself for the next move, and hoping it wouldn’t be necessary. Looking up, he saw that the soldiers were still talking and gesturing at them from above. Slowly he took a step down the ladder. Then, another. He made it down to a third before a few of the men above traded pointed fingers for downward-leveled barrels. They were out of time. A barrage of hot lead sprayed down over them, and David curled his form tightly around his cargo, demanding his skin to maintain a rigid surface, to protect them from any bullets that might otherwise have hit home. Then, he took his feet off the ladder altogether and loosened his grip so that he was just barely holding it by its sides. With that they dropped, flying fast and heavy towards the ground. Wind rushed up around their ears and swept through their dampened clothes, freezing them for the several seconds it took for them to complete their controlled fall. Shortly before they would have been halted by nothing more than the unforgiving cement sidewalk, David gradually tightened his grip on the ladder once more to smoothly slow their descent before coming to a complete stop. He glanced up to see that the soldiers appeared as no more than vague, dark outlines in the distance overhead before, stepping off the ladder and onto the ground. As soon as he was able he wrapped his arms around Charles, who was by now rigid as steel with his arms wrapped tightly around David’s neck. It was convenient, he noted, that he did not rely on oxygen to exist as he would have been dearly deprived of it based on the way his throat muscles were being constricted at the moment. 

 

 

He spoke then, “Charles”. Upon hearing his name, some of the tension drained out of his companion, just enough for Charles to slowly relax his legs and let them drop to the ground, before unwrapping his grip on David’s neck as well and allowing his arms fall back to his sides. He was not unlike a baby gazelle for a moment, as he attempted to steady his calves and hold himself upright without tipping sideways or backwards. David automatically reached forwards to steady his friend and studied him closely. His skin had been pale before but was even more so now, and as he dipped his head a bit to get a closer look he noted that his pupils were overly dilated and his breathing, though steady and sure, sounded slightly lighter than normal. He stood there for a moment, wondering what the best course of action might be from here. He couldn’t command Charles to take off running with him in his current state. He was barely standing and clearly still gathering his wits as the last of the adrenaline from their previous encounters fled his system. That didn’t change the fact that they still needed to get moving, and fast. The soldiers wouldn’t wait long to regroup and continue the hunt for them now that they’d been spotted. It might take them a moment to get down all of those rickety stairs but not long enough for a long pause here. Making another quick decision, David squared his feet and as gently as possible, swept his friend back up into his arms before taking off down the alleyway. Charles huffed slightly and tensed before settling in and simply pressing his face into a familiar collarbone, as they made their way back to the now flooded city streets.

 

 

Together, they made their way through the pouring rain with David holding tight to his cargo, running and darting between buildings, creating distance between themselves and the troop of weaponized soldiers. Widening the gap between danger and safety, until he felt certain that they had created enough of a gap to settle under shelter. They had established some measure of safety. At least, for now.


	19. Restore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They lose themselves, they settle, and they must find themselves again. Everything is better together for Charles, and for David.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me much longer than anticipated to get this chapter out to all of you, my lovely readers! I was successful in my other project and won an award for my effort but I've missed sharing this story with you all and am eager to jump back in. As promised here is the next part of the story and the following is already underway! To all those who comment and leave kudos, you are my sunshine and I love you so very much, thank you * 1000.
> 
> Love Always, HJP <3

**13\. Restore**

  
  


Twenty-four hours later, Charles and David had settled as comfortably as possible into their temporary, new shelter. After running for several dozen blocks under the pouring rain, they’d come across a deserted office building to escape into while they waited for the storm to pass.

 

 

Charles sat inside on the floor with one leg propped up for his arms to rest on and his back up against a wall. He sat there and determinedly breathed, slowly in and out. He watched casually as several dust motes floated in the air around him. It was the most peaceful moment he’d experienced in what seemed like days. 

 

 

Shortly after they’d descended from their flight down the ladder, his limbs had become relatively unresponsive. It was as though he had lost his connection with them entirely, and what were once his arms and legs slowly transitioned into dead weights that were a part of him and yet not. If David hadn’t swept him up and continued the rest of the escape for the both of them, he might have simply passed out on the sidewalk where the soldiers would most likely have discovered him, a ready prisoner, weakened and waiting for capture. He shivered slightly now, at the thought and blinked hard to erase the image from his mind’s eye, before refocusing on the dust motes once again.

 

 

By the time that they’d stumbled across their newfound shelter, he’d felt as though his body was spinning out from under the command of his conscious control, while his mind sank deeper into the background, struggling to focus on more than one tumultuous moment at a time. To further complicate matters, there hadn’t seemed to be nearly enough air. His throat had actually begun to burn as he laboured to drag in each essential and rough breath of oxygen. He’d barely noticed as he’d been carried into what must have once served as a meeting or conference room of sorts and been settled down on the floor. He had noticed as his limp hands had been picked up and placed down flat and firmly against the carpeted floor because it had helped him to feel slightly more grounded. Though it hadn’t done much of anything for his more pressing need for air. He remembered slowly digging his fingernails into the synthetic woolen fibers beneath him, seeing orange streaks and spots of color dance behind clenched eyelids as he drifted, hearing nothing, and only vaguely focusing on the increasingly painful act of gasping through each breath. Then, he’d noticed a slight shuffling as someone who had likely been crouching nearby adjusted to sit much closer and more directly in front of him. He’d first sensed, and then felt, as they leaned forward slightly and reached out to gently hold his cheekbones, and then very lightly, touched their foreheads together. They had sat there like that for several minutes, and slowly with time, he had become aware of the little puffs of air that were billowing across his nose from David’s breathing. His completely unnecessary breathing. With his advanced mechanized body, he had no real need to engage in the repetitive process of inhalation and exhalation. Nonetheless without words he was doing so, purposefully showing Charles what he needed to do to reclaim himself. As seconds turned into minutes, he did so. He began to focus on David’s breaths, and in so doing he found that he could assert more control over that of his own, to slow it down, and find some relief. Narrowing his attention in on the simple feeling of cool air rushing in and out, in and out, in and out, on just that and nothing more, had allowed him to reach for and reign in some essential element of inner serenity.

 

 

In time David had noted his reclaimed calm, and as he stabilized, had pulled away a bit. He’d studied him with a patient but no less intensely focused set to his eyes, undoubtedly to ensure that he would be able to hold himself up against the wall and would be alright for a moment, before finally unfolding his long legs, standing, and calmly informing him that he was going to further scout out the floor of the building to ensure that they could safely rest and dry off here, at least until the rain abated. He’d waited serenely until he received a nod from Charles in reply, lingered one minor moment more before smiling slightly and leaving the room, closing the door almost all the way shut behind him on the way out. Charles assumed this last act of leaving the room’s door slightly ajar, was meant to ensure that the interior of the room and his form were less visible from the outside, but also so that they would still be able to hear one another, if needed.

 

 

As he breathed and watched the floating bits of dust swirl on invisible eddies, he reflected. The world beyond, was not what Charles had expected. He had anticipated that it would be different, perhaps even surprising. He had not been prepared to find it so utterly wrecked and taken over by the elements of nature, the likes of which he had never seen or imagined before. Plant life crawled and encompassed everything in its path. Red dust filled the air and muddied the streets. The first signs of human activity indicated that most of the population here had been negatively affected by some sort of infection, which had driven them beyond compassion or even consideration for their fellow man and into complete chaos, based on the evidence they’d stumbled upon in the clinic. And then, finally, when they’d sighted the first intelligent being after traveling for miles, they’d been granted a front row seat to his elimination by the very next intelligent being that appeared on the scene. All of this, before a single thought or word could be exchanged between the group. They’d barely escaped a similar fate, as a result of David’s strength and brilliance. His desire to understand was no less than it had been at the start of their journey. It was in fact elevated in light of all that he’d seen and experienced. There was no way he could simply return home to the life he’d led in the Mechanical Palace with the memories he had of this place and all of the questions it led to. The plants, the clinic, the old man and the soldiers, the book and the subsequent escalation into violence. What did it all add up to? Charles sighed, and put some of these thoughts away for a moment. Before any future answers could be ascertained, they needed to assemble a few plans for the present. He leaned his head back against the wall and considered.


	20. Moving On, After the Madness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Charles begin to find their feet after the events on the rooftop but for how long can they hold them firmly beneath them, as they piece together the story of the Red City and all that's happened to its many previous citizens?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back to the next chapter of my story readers everywhere! <3 I really enjoyed writing this next installment and hope you find joy as you read it this season.
> 
> I've been very busy preparing for the holidays and attending to the life that pulls me away from my beloved writing but am delighted to share this next part of the journey with you! I'll always post new chapters as often as possible and aim to publish at least once a week. All that aside, please comment and tell me if you'd like to see anything special in future chapters. It's always inspiring to read what others think. And thank you, thank you to my amazing kudos givers, you guys are an absolute blessing and I love you all ~ Love Always <3 HJP

**14\. Moving On, After the Madness**

  
  


 

Twenty-four hours later David and Charles had scavenged the building and collected a small stash of supplies in the conference room. They’d found foods including additional cans of soup, miniature boxes of cereal, and only slightly outdated bags of crisps and dried fruits. There were even a few bottles of water. They took the items, bagged them up as best as they could in their little pack and hid their remains under the conference room table. David then dismantled a few chairs and used their cushions to create a small, if not perfectly comfortable, but effective, makeshift bed for Charles in the corner of the conference room before settling himself down a few feet away in the corner nearest to the door. He made for an effective and imposing bodyguard settled there, just slightly out of sight. 

 

 

The next day Charles opened his eyes to find that David had actually made a point to get some form of rest of his own. His eyes were closed and Charles took this unguarded moment to study his friend. He looked peaceful, relaxed, human. Very realistically human, despite his knowledge to the contrary. 

 

 

Shortly thereafter the two settled into a pattern. They would go out during the daytime, sticking to the shadows as much as possible and hugging the bits of sidewalk that were closest to buildings so that they could duck between alleys and into doorways when necessary. They explored the city, taking mental notes and trying to ascertain more of what had happened here, trying to learn where they might find others like themselves either among the wreckage or clues as to where they might have all gone. If there even were any others left that weren’t just brutish soldiers. 

 

 

Three days later as their supplies began to dwindle and the concept of returning home was beginning to look inevitable they made their first breakthrough. It was Charles who stumbled upon the lab. He heard a scuttling sound near one of the alleys and with both excitement and apprehension followed it only to discover that it was a piece of plastic scraping against the side of a brick building in the wind. But it led his gaze to a nearly unnoticeable white door embedded in the side of the building, that was hanging slightly ajar. There was light coming from it, which was also unusual. Motioning for David to join him, the two entered through the doorway to find the cleanest, most modern, and well maintained looking part of the city before their eyes. It was the entrance to a lab. There was a very short hallway, the end of which led to a transparent glass wall with clear glass security doors. Behind this wall, the makings of a lab were clearly visible. There were several science stations and tables neatly arranged in rows of three. The tables had organized piles of silvery sheets of paper and computer terminals centered on each, and the science stations were not much different than the transporter pads Charles had back in the Mechanical Palace. There had clearly been some effort to transport goods from this location to another at some point. The entire facility was well lit, white, and tidy, as though it had been recently cleaned or simply left perfectly untouched. Though, that didn’t explain the door that had been left ajar.

 

“It’s a lab,” Charles began, “But there’s no one here?” he stated with mild confusion and disappointment. David raked his eyes over the scene examining it as intensely as Charles. “Yes,” he agreed in confirmation. “This site is still in use.” He raised his hand up to touch the glass wall without quite connecting with it, before lowering it again. “There are micro traces of cleaning material still here. Someone has pressure cleaned this wall within the past few days but there are no signs of human presence at the moment. Perhaps there will be if we wait for someone to return, though I would hesitate to recommend doing so openly without having a stronger understanding of the purpose of the facility, what was being studied here, or transported, and how they’ve been able to survive in the midst of a deserted city being regularly monitored by soldiers.” He looked back towards the door, which was still ajar, before looking back at Charles. “Caution,” he said, “We must continue to exercise caution. We do not know all the variables here but you are correct. This may be our greatest opportunity yet to learn more about what happened here. One which we should not pass over.” Charles smiled and nodded before looking back at the glass wall. He studied the doors, which appeared to be designed to swing open in a rather old-fashioned saloon entry manner. He tried to push on one, and was unsurprised to find that it was locked in place. He looked up to David, who nodded, stepped forwards, and used his mechanical strength to slowly swing the doors inwards and open. They made a sharp creaking noise, as he did so, in an attempt to resist his efforts, futilely. Then, the pair entered the lab. 

 

 

Charles walked along the rows of science stations, until he reached one towards the middle and stopped to study it. It was ordinary enough. Then, he looked over at the piles of paper. “These are reports,” he said, studying the title of one with interest. He picked it up, scanned the first page, and then flipped through a bit before returning to the front and slowly beginning to read it. David studied him for a moment and then turned to pick up another from a desk adjacent to that one. The reports detailed the effects of transporting humans with augmentations. There were also notes in the reports on David’s table about the red plant material, that covered the city. Notes about everything from the way it reacted to intense heat or fire to freezing temperatures, the subtle differences in color from native, regional plants, its chemical makeup, organic structure, responses in different environments including low gravity and how some animals, such as mice and dogs, responded to the plant after beginning to digest it. Towards the end of the report, he noted while quickly scanning it with his mechanical eyes, were details more concerningly noting its effects on humans. These ranged from headaches and visions to death after exposure to the material for twenty-four hours with few exceptions. He glanced up at Charles immediately but he looked reasonably well. He displayed no signs of adverse reactions to the plants, and they’d been in the city for several days now. He glanced back at the report and continued reading. 

 

 

Apparently there were a small percentage of humans who were immune to the effects of the plant. There was some discussion of this potentially being related to a genetic variation in these humans that allowed them to resist the effects of the plant and become stronger as opposed to being weakened upon exposure over time. He went to another desk, leaving the first completed report behind, determined to know more, not just to understand what had happened in the city but to be certain that his friend hadn’t been and wouldn't become unduly harmed by their presence here. He went through several reports in this manner, quickly scanning them and devouring the details therein. One detailed the case of a young girl, who upon exposure to the plant developed increased respiratory functions. It wasn’t noticeable in any previous test she’d undergone, upon the scientists first discovering and documenting her immunity, until they’d done a secondary nano scale physical examination and realized that there had been some minute changes in an area of her lungs that only the science stations were equipped to detect via sophisticated scanners. She’d been able to run longer than before and hold her breath for longer periods of time than were natural for a typical child of her age and build. There had also been a test involving water later down the line, which they’d completed several months back, in which the child had been submerged in a tank of some kind and encouraged to attempt to breathe the liquid. Astonishingly, she’d done so with partial success before they’d had to remove her after several exceptional minutes. There were other cases like this, as well. One involved an older gentleman whose vision had been enhanced, allowing him to see with far greater clarity and at greater distances, details that he’d not been able to perceive for years. Another unusual case involved a mother who claimed that she could hear the thoughts of other augmented humans, after she’d undergone a post-cancer, brain augmentation herself. She claimed that she could pick up on the thoughts and ramblings of both humans and non-humans, who were connected to the Net. David held that one for a moment longer than the others before putting it down, and looking over at Charles again, who was still studiously frowning at the first report he’d picked up.

 

 

“This report seems to suggest that the red plant matter we’ve been seeing all over the city is somehow foreign, which I suppose makes sense considering all the damage it’s done, but then how did it get here? It looks like they were both, trying to understand its properties, while simultaneously managing the people in this city that were responding adversely to it.” He looked up at David. “Through military methods. They go into a lot of detail about how best to transport augmented humans and their weapons in both small and large numbers in and out of the city using the transporters here, which were originally designed to transport inanimate goods like the Sylke I purchased for your outer layer, and well, things that aren’t alive or capable of feeling the transport process,” he said with a small note of worry in his voice. David nodded before adding his own conclusions, “The remaining reports seem to focus almost exclusively on the plants and the way that humans respond to it. There seem to be one of two recurring responses. One, which is adverse, leading to discomfort, disorder, or death. The other lends a boosting effect to humans, elevating their natural abilities as a result of some intermingling between the plant and a natural variant in those human’s genetic makeup. A very small number of these humans were immune to the effects of the plant and empowered rather than disadvantaged by it.” He paused and then added, “I’m concerned that you have been affected by our time spent in this city. I have yet to note any drastic alterations in your physiology but it’s possible that this is because we have not been looking for any changes or because I have known and studied you for too little time to note any changes. How do you feel?” Charles nodded with concern and agreement but said, “I.. I haven’t noticed anything different about myself since we arrived. I mean, it’s been quite overwhelming, especially with the… well the soldiers, and everything here is far from what I expected it to be but I’ve had you this whole time to help me through so many things. And, I don’t feel sick or anything unusual. Just a bit stressed but nothing unexpected, I’d say.” David nodded. “Perhaps you’re immune but don’t experience the effects. According to these reports most people experience adverse reactions within twenty-four hours and we would have seen signs of that by now in you, so you are most certainly immune. We will simply have to remain vigilant for any other changes you may experience.” “What about you,”Charles asked. “I mean, I know your physiology is different than mine but have you noticed anything about the way that your body, perhaps the Sylke or anything at all, responds to this environment?” David shook his head in the negative. “There is nothing about this or our previous environments which have negatively impacted me. I would have noticed any such thing immediately.” “Well that’s good at least,” Charles said with a slight smile. 

 

 

Just then, one of the transporter pads to the left of Charles began to light up and glow.

 

 

David quickly stepped forwards, gathered his friend up in a fireman’s carry over his shoulders and gently and efficiently stashed him under one of the room’s many desks as far from the functioning transporter pad as possible, before joining him on the floor nearby while they both waited to see what would come out. Seconds later, one of the familiar looking silver faced helmet and black clad soldiers materialized into view. “Dr. Witherspoon!” the soldier’s voice echoed out as he scanned the lab environment. Seconds later the machine fired up again and another identical soldier stepped out. This pattern repeated, fifteen more times, as a small squadron of soldiers gathered in the lab while Charles covered his mouth with both hands increasingly trying his best not to hyperventilate while David sat rigidly next to him a mere ten feet away from over a dozen heavily armored and weaponized mercenaries. He closed his eyes and hoped they might just pass right by them. He almost got his wish. 

 

 

The soldier that had materialized first, quickly barked out a command for the other troops stand to attention and then begin marching out of the lab towards the street. Seven of them had passed their little hiding spot before the eighth noticed them there and immediately called attention to their position with a shouted, “Hey!” and “Civilian on the premises!” Immediately all of the soldiers turned in sync to take them in, and David stood to position himself in front of Charles and the desk with his hands raised. He’d been able to fight off the soldiers before with quick thinking and skill. But that was two men. This was fifteen. They were woefully outnumbered and completely outgunned. He might be able to block some of the bullets and take down the men given enough time but the odds that Charles would escape unscathed were slim to none. 

 

 

He was silent in his surrender but scanned the rows of soldiers surrounding them. The leader walked slowly back over their way with his hands resting firmly behind his back to come face to face with David and locking eyes resolutely with him. He held his gaze for a moment, before looking down near his legs and gesturing for Charles to come out from under the desk, as well. “You want to come out of there son,” he said calmly and then with deceptive patience, waited as Charles exhaled a shuddering breath and then slowly released just enough tension from his body to uncurl, crawl out from under the desk and stand quietly next to David with his shoulders hunched in and his hands at his sides. He stared wide eyed and unspeakingly up at the soldier. David glanced briefly at him, understanding that he was still traumatized from his last experience with the previous set of soldiers on the rooftop several days prior. There wouldn’t be any quick witted conversations happening today, though. Experience had made Charles less courageous in this arena and in its place had imbued him with stillness and caution. 

 

 

The soldier studied them both, looking first from David to Charles, and back again. He circled them, looking them up and down, before coming back around to stand directly before Charles. He was about the same height as David and therefore towered over Charles, as he reached forwards and down to grab his chin gently with one hand. David went rigid, next to them and he glanced his way briefly, before returning his focus to a nearly panic frozen Charles. He slowly tilted his face left and then right, before letting go. Then, he looked to David and slowly dragged his eyes up and down his form before looking back to Charles. 

 

 

“Human?” he asked clearly. Charles just continued to stare at him wide-eyed but David responded with a quick and clipped, “Yes. Are you?” The soldier stared hard at him before looking to Charles. “This one definitely is,” he said before reaching back out to run the back of his ungloved hand along Charles throat as though feeling for a pulse. “Sweat,” he murmured, maintaining contact with Charles neck, while holding David’s gaze, “Accelerated pulse…, fear,” he stated calmly before removing his hand and turning to face David with his body as well as his gaze. "But you, hmmm. Trained?” he asked. “You show none of the responses of a typical human encountering an augmented soldier. Calm, steady…, defiant,” he added after a beat of silence. “Calculating, cautious,” David corrected. “I want to ensure that my friend and I come to no harm and that we understand what it is that you’d like from us so that we may continue our interaction peacefully,” he explained. “He is afraid but we are traveling companions and unfamiliar with this city, and the events that transpired here. We came upon this lab during our explorations. We do understand that something disastrous has occurred here and so we hid, when we realized that we would soon be joined by others unknown to us. However, we mean you no ill will and are willing to engage you peacefully. Though I must warn you... I have made my friend a promise, to ensure his safety, and I will do so by all possible means necessary,” he concluded gravely.

 

 

“Your friend… ,” the soldier said and looked slowly from David, breaking eye contact at the last possible second, back to Charles who was now staring at the floor as though hoping that it might transport the two of them anywhere else but where they currently stood. The soldier raised his left hand and created a fist, encouraging the soldiers surrounding them to lower their weapons to their sides and adopt a parade rest stance. Charles released another slow breath that he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding, as soon as the weapons were pointed away from them. The soldier nodded, then gestured for one of his men to come forward. “We need to scan you to determine whether or not you’re in our system.” David tensed slightly as the man approached, and produced a small scanning device from the back of his helmet, which he raked first up and down Charles and then himself. Both times, resulted in a jarring discordant beep followed by a lilting electronic voice that said simply, and ominously as a death sentence, “Error. No record available.” The room was quiet, then.


End file.
